Pokémon: Zachi's Journey
by Zachi
Summary: FINALLY! Episode 16 is available! More character development. OT fic based on yellow version of the game, plenty of action and humor. Story is easy to read and written in proper English, not full of typos and mistakes. Please R&R.
1. Episode 1 The Journey Begins

I am Zachi. I am a Pokémon Master from the Town of Pallet. But like most Pokémon Masters, I didn't have 16 badges and all 251 Pokémon overnight. I am going to tell you the story of my expeditions. But, every story has a beginning, so I think I should start from the very start, when I first got Pikachu, my first Pokémon…

Introducing…

Pokémon: Zachi's Journey

Episode 1: The Journey Begins

I threw my eyes open. Better wake up! Today was the day I would receive my first Pokémon! Which Pokémon would it be? I threw off my covers and leapt out of bed. But the phone rang. I ran over and picked it up.

"Hey Zachi, which Pokémon are you going to get?" came the voice of Michael, my cousin. Today was his first day also. He lived in Vermillion City.

"I don't know!" I exclaimed, frantic. Why did he have to call _now_!

"I'm gonna' get a Nidoran male,"

"Cool!" I exclaimed flatly.

"So you don't know which one you're gonna' get?"

"No—Michael, this is a bad time, can I call you back from Viridian City?"

"When will that be?"

"I dunno', maybe several hours from now?"

"Okay…"

I slammed the phone down and ran over to my computer. Something had been telling me to withdraw something from it that I knew I would forget. But I always told myself that I had never deposited anything in it. I quickly opened my item storage system. I clicked "withdraw". Well, I was wrong! There was a Potion in there! I quickly withdrew it. I threw it in my bag and turned my computer off. I ran out the door. Whoa! Shoot! I forgot to put my clothes on! I quickly threw on some clothes, grabbed my stuff, and rushed down the stairs.

"Zachi! Where are you going so quickly?" my mom exclaimed, getting up from the table.

"I gotta' go to Professor Oak's lab now!"

"Why?"

"I have to get a Pokémon!"

"Okay…"

I ran out the door and took off in the direction of the Oak Research Labs. About ten minutes later, I was there. I ran inside and found Timothy there too. I frowned and growled under my breath. Great. Timothy was getting a Pokémon too.

"Professor Oak! What Pokémon am I going to get!" I exclaimed, running up to him.

"Well, you're a bit late, so Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle are gone, but I have two left,"

"WHICH ONES ARE THEY!" I hollered.

"Well, um, Pikachu and Eevee,"

"I'll take Eevee!" I exclaimed.

"Okay," Professor Oak said, pointing to the table beside him. It had two Pokéballs on it. I ran up to the one on the left and grabbed it.

"All right! I got Eevee!" I exclaimed, holding the ball high up in the air. But then somebody kicked me in the leg.

"Ow!" I said, dropping the Pokéball.

A hand swiped it up from the ground.

"Ah-hah!" came Timothy's voice.

"TIMOTHY!"

I grabbed the Pokéball with Pikachu in it.

"I want to fight you right now!" he exclaimed.

"Fine! If I win then I get Eevee!"

"Fair enough."

I threw the Pokéball containing Pikachu. Man, I was gonna' be furious if I lost. Pikachu was a horrible Pokémon. It was okay at the beginning, but it would progressively get worse. I had read up on it on the Internet.

"Pikachu, Thundershock!" I commanded. Unfortunately, that's all it knew. Timothy's Eevee knew two moves—Tackle and Growl. Thank God Growl wouldn't do anything to me, because Thundershock was a Special attack and Growl lowered the power of your Pokémon's physical Attack. But Tackle would be a problem.

"Eevee, Tackle!" Timothy commanded.

Shock, then Tackle, Thundershock, then Tackle. I used that Potion. Tackle. Thundershock. I started to get the feeling I would win, especially because his Eevee was almost Knocked Out. But then, it happened. Eevee tackled Pikachu, and it was a critical hit! Pikachu, with his lousy defense, got Knocked Out!

"No!" I exclaimed. How on earth was I going to manage to complete the team I had spent hours planning now, now that I didn't have Eevee! I was planning on having a team of Jolteon, Nidoking, Poliwrath, Pidgeot, Victreebel, and Parasect. But now that I had lost Eevee, how could I ever achieve that goal!

Timothy cackled at me in spite.

"I swear, Timothy, I _will_ get an Eevee, and when I do, I will raise it and it will be ten times better than yours!" I spat at him. He recalled Eevee, healed it quickly at Professor Oak's computer, and took off. I reared my foot back, about to kick that stupid Pikachu.

"No!" came the voice of Professor Oak, pushing me back. I stumbled back, more angry now.

"What are you doing!" I exclaimed, giving him a look of confusion and anger.

"What do you think you're doing, trying to kick Pikachu?"

"That stupid yellow rat made me lose Eevee!"

"You're the one who fought that battle!"

"So! What else was I going to do, just sit around and let him take Eevee?"

"I would have let you take Eevee if you had just said something."

"What! Why didn't you say that!"

"Because, one should never break up a Pokémon battle."  
I lowered my head and clenched my fists, ready to explode now. I picked up the Pokéball, recalled Pikachu, and went over to a window. I opened it and walked back a few spaces. I wound my arm up, and chucked the ball out the window.

"What do you think you're doing!" Professor Oak exclaimed, running up to me.

"Getting rid of that dumb electric rat," I said flatly.

"You can't do that!" Professor Oak exclaimed, running out the door and around to the back of the lab where I had thrown Pikachu. He rushed back in.

"Keep your dumb rat. If I have to start with that Pokémon, I'd just as soon start next year." I stomped out of the lab and slammed the door shut. I walked slowly across the grass. Wait a minute! I had left my backpack! I ran back to the lab and barged in. I grabbed it and left just a quickly as I had entered.

A while later I arrived home. I walked in and slammed the door. I went up into my room, threw my backpack in the corner, pulled my shoes off, and threw them beside my backpack. I plopped on my bed, kicking my feet up and letting out a heavy sigh. I was still steaming. I heard a ruffling but didn't care to investigate it. Maybe I could go to Viridian City and buy a Pokéball. Yeah… that sounded like a good idea.

A couple hours later, I arrived in Viridian City. I ran up to the Pokémart and walked in. Thank God it wasn't crowded. I walked up to the register.

"Can I buy 5 Pokéballs?" I asked the clerk.

"Sure. Can I see your Pokédex for identification?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you have to be a Pokémon trainer to buy Pokéballs, and all Pokémon trainers have Pokédexes."

I dropped my jaw. What the…? I had never heard about this! I instantly left the store.

A couple hours later I was back in Pallet Town. I ran towards the lab, but felt something in my pack. I took it off my back and unzipped it. I saw a yellow ear. Something jumped out and landed on my head. Pikachu! How did that filthy rat get in my backpack? I quickly grabbed it off my head and stuffed it in my pack again, zipping it up and placing it on my back. Oh well. At least I had a Pokémon now. Now I could get that stupid Pokédex from Oak.

I went inside the lab and found Professor Oak.

"Oh, hello Zachi, what brings you here?"

"You know 'what brings me here'," I said.

"Pikachu, you mean?"

"No, I mean a Sunday fudge bar. Of course I mean idiachu!" I exclaimed, making fun of stupid Pikachu's name.

Oak gave me a rather angry look. I ignored him.

"Look. I need a Pokédex so I can buy Pokéballs. Once I get a Pokémon that can win at least one battle, I'll give your stupid Pikachu back,"

"Fine. I'll give you a Pokédex under one condition—you completely fill it up."

"You mean catch all 151 Pokémon?"

"One-hundred fifty-one? There are only 150, Zachi,"

"No, Professor, there is one that you seem to be forgetting."

"And who is that?"

"Mew."

"Oh, if you're going to count myths you might as well include MISSINGNO. as a Pokémon also!"

"Mew is not a myth."

"Yes, Zachi, yes it is."

"Fine! I'll prove it to you! One day, I _will_ catch Mew, and when I do, I am going to rub it in your face!"

"Then fine, catch MISSINGNO. too, " Professor Oak replied with a laugh.

"I just think I will."

Oak rolled his eyes and handed me a Pokédex. I grabbed it and took off.

I arrived at Viridian City by dusk. The mart was closed, so I had to spend the night in the Pokémon Center. The next morning I woke with a start. I ran to the Pokémart and hurried in. Fortunately, it was open and not many people were there. I ran up to the clerk and pulled out my Pokédex.

"I want to buy 5 Pokéballs. And here is my darn Pokédex." I put it on the desk and he looked at it.

"Okay." He turned around and handed me five Pokéballs.

I grabbed them and handed him the money. I jammed my Pokédex back in my backpack and took off outside.

"Now… where are Nidoran male?" I wondered aloud. "Right! Just outside Viridian City!" I ran to the place. It took about five minutes. Once I got there, I started walking around in the grass. Nothing. Why wasn't this working? A little beeping came from my pack. I pulled out my Pokédex.

"In order to fight battles with wild Pokémon, you must have a Pokémon of your own," the Pokédex said.

I frowned and opened my bag. Pikachu was asleep inside. I flicked its cheek.

"Wake up, rat!" I said, pulling it out of the bag. I tossed it to the ground. I started walking around more. Pikachu was following. Good. Now I might be able to catch a Nidoran.

"A Pokémon!" I exclaimed. It was Nidoran male! I pulled out a Pokéball. "You're mine…" I said. I reared back, and threw the Pokéball. "Pokéball, go!" It flew over, and beamed the Nidoran with a red beam. The Pokémon got sucked away inside. The ball fell and started bouncing. But it popped open! "What!" I exclaimed, angry.

"Pokémon usually need to be weakened before they can be caught," my Pokédex said.

"Hmm…" I said. I looked at Pikachu. Well, I guess I would have to…

"Pikachu!" I snapped. Its head cocked. "Attack the Nidoran!" Pikachu nodded and stepped up. It used Thundershock. "Pokéball, go!" I threw another ball. It sucked the Pokémon inside. One shake. Two shakes. Three shakes. Ding!

"Yes! I caught Nidoran!" I ran over and grabbed the Pokéball off the ground. I put it on my belt and ran back to the Pokémon Center. I instantly ran up to the counter. "Can you heal my Nidoran?" I asked the lady. She nodded and took the Pokéball. Right then, Pikachu jumped from my pack into a Pokéball. The ball rolled out of my pack and onto the floor.

"Here, let me heal that other one too," she said.

I grabbed the Pokéball and handed it to her. She turned around and placed them both on a counter. She typed a couple of things and a light turned on. It flashed five times while chiming and then stopped. She handed them both to me.

"Thank you for using the Viridian City Pokémon Center. We hope to see you again!" she said, waving as I left.

I left Viridian City and went back to Pallet Town. I arrived there a couple hours later. I went to Professor Oak's lab and went inside.

"Here's your dumb Pikachu," I said, putting the Pokéball with Pikachu in it on the table.

"Thank you for returning it," Oak said, gently picking up the Pokéball.

"My pleasure," I retorted flatly.

I left went down to the coast at the southern tip of Pallet Town. I sat down on the grass and put my feet in the warm sand. I let Nidoran out of his Pokéball, who sat there beside me. I knew that somewhere out there I would be able to find MISSINGNO., Mew, and an Eevee. But I just couldn't think where. Just then, an especially high tide rolled in, washing water up to my ankles. Something touched the back of my ankle, and I moved it quickly. The water rolled away, revealing something odd.

"What the…?" I said, picking it up. It looked like a piece of flesh almost. How weird. I studied it. It looked weird, like some kind of scrambled image. I felt it over. It felt very strange—like a feather, but it seemed to have some sort of energy flowing through it. I looked at it some more, and put it in my pack. I guess I would have Professor Oak or someone look at it later. But then, I felt something. Like I knew what it was. What could it possibly be?

►To Be Continued…


	2. Episode 2

Episode 2: Pewter City and the Boulder Badge!

I walked into the Viridian City Pokémon center and sat down on a couch near the video phones. I was waiting for one to free up. Finally, somebody left. I got up and went up to it, sitting down in the chair in front of it. I dialed Michael's number. On the third ring, Michael picked up.

"Hey Zachi, why didn't you call me back?"

"I was busy. How many Pokémon you got?"

"Two. Nidoran male and female. Why?"

"No reason. Just wanted to know,"

"How about you?"

"Only one. Nidoran male,"

"Hey! You copied me!"

"No, actually I had been planning on capturing one the whole time. I just didn't tell you,"

"Why not?"

"Because you didn't ask and because I didn't have to,"

"Urgh…"

"Chill out. How is your Pokédex going?"

"Not the best it could. I only got 2 Pokémon, you know,"

"Yeah, I know,"

"So… Why only one?"

"Long story,"

"Wait a minute! What happened to your starter Pokémon?"

"What do you mean what happened to it? Nidoran is my first Pokémon,"

"No… That can't be… Oak doesn't give out Nidorans…"

"I didn't get a Pokémon from Professor Oak,"

"Then how the heck did you get that Nidoran? Did you steal it like Team Rocket?"

"No! I caught it, fair and square,"

"Well, how did you get a Pokéball? You have to have a Pokémon to have a Pokédex and you have to have a Pokédex to buy a Pokéball,"

"Yeah…" I muttered something under my breath after that, but Michael didn't hear it.

"So how did you get Nidoran?"

"Ok, I'll spill. It's a long story,"

"I've got time,"

"Ok, it all started when-," And I told him the story from there.

"Oh… that sounds like it was really stupid,"

"Yeah, it was. Hey, I need to call Professor Oak, so I'm gonna' let you go, ok?"

"Ok," I hung up the phone and dialed Professor Oak's number.

"Zachi? What is it?"

"Professor, I found something rather strange on the beach south of Pallet Town," I said.

"Well, what is it?" he asked.

I pulled the thing I had found on the beach out of my backpack and put it up to the screen.

"Can you see it?"

Professor Oak stared at it for a few moments before replying.

"Yes, I can, but I'm going to need you to send it to me so I can confirm that it is what I think it is,"

"What do you think it is?"

"Just send it to me, ok?"

"Ok…"

I hung up the phone and went over to the PC in the corner of the center. I logged on to the item storage system and deposited the strange thing. I walked back over to the phone and called Prof. Oak again.

"Well, what is it?" I asked.

"I know this sounds strange, but scientists say this is supposed to be a 'feather' from MISSINGNO.,"

"So MISSINGNO. is a bird?"

"Supposedly. But they say he isn't flying type at all,"

"What type is he supposed to be?"

"He's supposed to be Bird and Normal. But there isn't such a thing as Bird-type, so that's where he becomes a myth. You probably just found a cleverly planted hoax,"

"No way! How do you plant a hoax in the ocean and expect it to be found?"

"Well, it might have just been for fun. I wouldn't make a big deal about it,"

"That's crazy! I actually find something that might have once been a feather to one of the most elusive and legendary Poke\émon in the world and all you have to say is that it 'was a cleverly planted hoax'!"

"Well, basically, yes,"

"Can't you run tests? Can you check for DNA samples?"

"I guess so, but I'm sure I won't find anything,"

"Well, check and I'll call you sometime to see if you found anything,"

"You don't have a cell phone?"

"Professor, I'm 10. What the heck do you expect?"

"Oh, sorry. I should have thought,"

"I'll call you. Bye,"

I hung up the phone and marched out of the center. Nidoran was already level 5, and he was doing well. Now, whom should I catch next? I knew Nidoran would learn Double Kick at level 8, so I didn't have to worry about Brock's Rock-type Pokémon. I needed to catch Pidgey to help get my team complete. So, I took off for Viridian Forest. I knew Pidgeys were in there, and there were many Bug Catchers, along with Caterpies and Metapods. So, I could catch 2 new Pokémon and fight some battles for training. Great. Only problem was, how did I know how to get out? I had this feeling I knew how but I didn't trust it. Strange.

I entered the forest and looked around for some tall grass. I ran over to it and started walking around in it. After catching a Caterpie and fighting a couple of Metapods, I found a Pidgey. Nidoran used Tackle twice and then Leer. I threw the Pokéball. One shake. Two shakes. Three shakes. Ding!

"YES! I got Pidgey!" I exclaimed, putting up a big peace sign. I grabbed the Pokéball and hurried out of the forest, back to the Pokémon center. I had Nidoran, Pidgey, and Caterpie all healed. I took off back into the forest. After several fights with some Bug Catchers, I was out. I was amazed I managed to make it through the forest, especially considering it was kind of a maze, I had never been there before, and it was dark. But I had a feeling that I knew the place very well. Like I had been there before or something.

"I should probably hurry," I said to myself. I didn't want to lose the race to the Pokémon League to Michael. I hurried out of the forest. Once I was out, I checked my pack to see what I had collected. A Pokéball, a Potion, and an Antidote. That was an okay amount of items to find in a forest. I hurried up to the Pewter City Pokémon center and healed my Pokémon. Nidoran was level 8, Pidgey was Level 5, and Caterpie was a level 7 Metapod. I decided to deposit Metapod, considering he was at a useless stage, and that I wouldn't really need him soon. I would be getting Paras in Mount Moon, and he was a better Bug-type anyway. So after some training, I figured I was ready for Brock. After all, he wouldn't be able to take my Nidoran's Double Kick. But, I decided to do some other stuff first. I went to the museum.

I walked into the museum and went up the desk.

"500 yen for a child's ticket," the clerk said. I handed him the money and walked in. I looked at the fossils of Omanyte, Kabuto, and Aerodactyl. They were really interesting. I walked upstairs to the top floor. Around a corner, there was a large room with a huge space shuttle in it. There was a guy standing there, looking at it.

"Hey you, do you know what this is?" he asked me.

"No… what is it?"

"It was the first shuttle to land on the moon!"

"Ah, right…"

"No! I'm serious!"

"Ok, whatever…"

"Did you know that some scientists think that Clefairy came from the moon?"

"No,"

"Well, I think that when they went up to the moon on this thing, they found evidence that Clefairy DID come from the moon, and the government just ain't telling us,"

"That's great, sir,"

"No! I really do!"

I walked up to the shuttle and looked it up and down. It was somewhat interesting. I looked at it for a few more minutes, then left. I walked out of the museum into the warm sunshine. I decided I would explore Pewter City a little bit more before I went to face Brock. I walked back to the southern end of the city to find a man spraying something all over the ground. I walked up to him.

"What are you doing?" I asked, looking him curiously.

"You don't know?"

"No… if I knew, then why would I ask you?"

"Well, I'm spraying Repel to keep Pokémon away from my garden,"

"Oh. That's smart,"

"I know it is,"

I left, and decided that I had done enough exploring. So, I decided to train for a little bit. After some training, Pidgey was level 10 and Nidoran was level 11. I healed and went to the Pewter City gym. It smelled of dirt and dust inside. I looked around, and there were rocks everywhere. Well, I guess Brock sure liked rocks! I walked up to the opening only to be stopped by a trainer. Great, I would have to battle this _idiot_ before Brock. Guess I would have to heal before I faced him.

"You won't make it to Brock!" he said, challenging me. I grinned, accepting the challenge. I pulled my Pokéball containing Pidgey off my belt and threw it. He threw his.

"Pidgey, go!"

"Diglett, go!"

Pidgey was somehow slower. Diglett used Scratch. I used Sand-Attack. He used Scratch. I used Sand-Attack again. He used Scratch, but it missed. I used Sand-Attack. I used Quick Attack. He used Scratch. I used Quick Attack. He used Scratch, but it missed. I used Quick Attack. He used Scratch, but it missed. I used Quick Attack and knocked him out. Pidgey was level 11. He was about to use Sandshrew, so I recalled Pidgey and sent out Nidoran. I was faster then him, so I got to use Leer first. He used Sand-Attack. I used Horn Attack. He used Sand-Attack. I used Horn Attack. He used Sand-Attack. I used Horn Attack. It missed. He kept using nothing but Sand-Attack. Man, what a _moron_. I missed a lot, but eventually I won. Pidgey was level 11, and Nidoran was level 12. I left the gym. I walked back to the Pokémon center. I went inside, and went up to Nurse Joy.

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah, I need my Pokémon healed,"

"Sure thing," I handed her my Pokémon and she place the Pokéballs on the tray.

"Has a guy with an Eevee come through here?"

"Yes, why?"

"Darn it! Oh, uh, no reason in particular,"

She handed me my Pokéballs and said what the nurses always say. I left, heading back to the Pewter gym. So Timothy had already beaten me through here. Darn! That meant he had a Boulder Badge and was probably figuring out the way through Mt. Moon.

I walked into the Pewter Gym once again and walked up to Brock.

"Are you here to challenge me for the Boulder Badge?" he asked, reaching for a Pokéball.

"Of course," I said, reaching for my Pokéball with Nidoran in it.

"You won't survive. I'm going to laugh when Nurse Joy comes to take your unconscious body away to the Pokémon center,"

I could have sworn I saw Brock's eyes light up when he said "Nurse Joy." But, I might have been wrong.

"Pokéball, go!"

"Pokéball, go!"

He sent out Geodude and I sent out Nidoran. I was faster, of course, and used Double Kick. He used Tackle, which was the only move he knew. I used Double Kick. After a few rounds of exchanging blows, Geodude fainted. He sent out Onix. I'm smart, so I decided to stick with Nidoran. He and I exchanged blows for two rounds, but that's when he used Bide. I had no experience with the move, so I didn't know what to do to counteract it. But something told me to use Leer. So I used Leer while his Onix did nothing. Then, it tried to gather energy, but nothing happened. Then I used Double Kick, and it fainted because it's Defense was so low.

"Ha! I win, it seems!"

"Fine, here's the Boulder Badge…" He handed me the Boulder Badge. I took it and stuck it on my shirt.

"And before you go, here's something else for beating me," He handed me TM 34, Bide.

"How does Bide work?"

"Your Pokémon does nothing for 2 or 3 rounds, then returns double the damage it receives,"

"Cool!"

"How did you know to use Leer when I used Bide? You apparently didn't know what the move did, so how did you know?"

"Something told me, I don't really know myself,"

"Oh… that's strange…"

I shrugged my shoulders and left. This was great. I had gotten more data in my Pokédex, and I had the Boulder Badge! It hurried back to the Pokémon center and got my Pokémon healed. Now I needed to head to Mt. Moon. It seemed like something inside me was confident that I could get through Mt. Moon, like I had done that before too. Like the feeling I had right before I went into Viridian Forest. Whatever that feeling was, I sure appreciated it. It had helped me along the way a lot so far. But how long would it last? I couldn't rely on some sort of feeling to get through my Pokémon journey. I just hoped Michael was doing as well as I was. He probably has the Thunder Badge already. Maybe we would meet on our way to get the Cascade Badge from Misty of Cerulean City. That would be good. Then we could go on the journey together. Hmm…

►To Be Continued…


	3. Episode 3

Episode 3: Mt. Moon, Here We Come!

I walked back over to the phones in the Pokémon center and dialed the number of Prof. Oak's lab.

"Professor?" I said as he picked up the phone.

"Yes, Zachi, I'm here," he said.

"So… What about the thing I found?" I asked.

"Oh, I've been running tests, and it doesn't contain any Pokémon DNA…"

"Oh…"

"I didn't expect it to. I knew it was just a hoax,"

"But how could I possibly manage to find it?"

"Who knows! But you only have a fake, if there _is_ a real,"

"Can you send it back to me?"

"Why? It's fake,"

"I know, but I just have a feeling about it,"

"Ok, here it is," he said. He slipped it into a drive and it came out at the phone I was using. I grabbed it and put it in my backpack.

"Thanks, Professor,"

"Sure, Zachi,"

I hung up the phone and walked out of the Pokémon center. I headed for the road that led to Mt. Moon. Wait, I needed to buy some Pokéballs. I turned around and ran towards the Pokémart. I walked in and went up to the register.

"Five Pokéballs, please," I said.

"Sure thing. Is that it?"

"Yeah,"

"1000 yen, please,"

I handed him the cash and grabbed the Pokéballs, placing them in my bag. I left the store and ran off towards the road to Mt. Moon again. However, a Youngster soon cut my expedition short.

"You're not wearing shorts! I don't like people who don't wear shorts!" he said, pulling out one of his two Pokéballs.

"What on earth are you talking about!" I exclaimed, very confused.

"Let's settle this with a Pokémon match!" he said. "Rattata, go!"

"Pidgey, go!" We both threw the Pokéballs containing our leadoff Pokémon on the battlefield to start the battle. Pidgey was slower than Rattata, but I used Quick Attack so I got the first move. He used Tail Whip, but it failed. I used Gust and he used Tackle. He used Quick Attack and I used Quick Attack. His Rattata fainted. Pidgey grew to level 12. He withdrew his fainted Rattata. He was about to use Ekans. I switched to Nidoran so it could battle a little bit.

"Ekans, go!"

"Nidoran, go!"

I was faster, so I used Horn Attack. He used Wrap. He kept using it for 5 turns, and then I used Horn Attack again. Fortunately, this kid wasn't very smart, so he used Poison Sting. I used Horn Attack again. He was low on HP. He used Wrap again and it attacked for 5 turns. I used Double Kick and he fainted. I won! I got about 275 yen for winning. I jumped down a ledge to see a female Junior Trainer. I won against her and Pidgey became level 13. Nidoran became 13. I got a little bit of yen, and headed back to the Pokémon center. I was worried about how I would be able to beat Misty. I had read she had a Staryu and Starmie. I walked up to the PC in the corner of the center and logged in to Bill's PC. Not to my surprise, Prof. Oak had stored that dumb Pikachu in Bill's PC in box 1. I figured I might need it to help me beat Misty, so I withdrew it. Apparently, it didn't like being in a Pokéball, so it followed me around on foot. That was fine, as long as it didn't cause problems. I healed my Pokémon and left the center, walking towards the grass south of Pewter City. If I was going to fight with this dumb rodent, it better be at a decent level. So I battled with Pikachu, facing Rattatas, Pidgeys, and Caterpies until he was level 13 like my Nidoran and Pidgey. By then, Pikachu knew Thundershock, Growl, Tail Whip, and Quick Attack. It would learn Thunder Wave and Double Team soon.

So, I went back to the Pokémon center to heal for like the 20th time. I then took off for the road to Mt. Moon again. The next guy I faced was a "Cool" Trainer male, and he actually had 3 Pokémon, like I did. I beat all of them, and each of my Pokémon grew to level 14. Nidoran learned Poison Sting! Pikachu learned Thunder Wave! I got more yen that time then from the previous battle. I decided to go back and heal again. I came back, and looked around. Apparently, there were three more trainers. I jumped down a ledge to face another. I won, and jumped down another ledge. Now I was on the same level as that female trainer I had faced a little while back. I walked back up, went around the "Cool" Trainer male, and went up to the next loser. I won, and decided to go back to the center for healing. I went back to face the very last loser. I went up to him. Naturally, I won. So I went on to the next strip of route leading to Mt. Moon when a female trainer stopped me.

"Pidgey, go!"

"Jigglypuff, go!"

I was faster, so I used Gust. She used… Sing! My Pidgey fell asleep!

"Pidgey, wake up!" I said, shaking it. But it was no use. Her Jigglypuff used Pound. Pidgey was asleep. Pound. Sleep. Pound. Woke up! Pound. Pidgey was almost knocked out, and Jigglypuff had yet to be fazed. But then I remembered! Nidoran knew Double Kick! Double Kick was a Fighting-type move, Jigglypuff was Normal-type, and although Double Kick didn't get a same type bonus, Double Kick would be super-effective! So, I withdrew Pidgey and sent out Nidoran. He used Double Kick, and it did a respectable amount of damage! However, Jigglypuff used Sing. I was about to withdraw Nidoran, but it didn't go to sleep! I used Double Kick, and Jigglypuff was knocked out! Fortunately, she only had Jigglypuff, so I had won! I got a lot of yen that time. I decided to head back, but something told me to go on ahead. So I did, seeing as that feeling had lead me in the right direction previously. For some reason, there were no more trainers, and a Pokémon center right outside Mt. Moon! I hurried in and healed my Pokémon. There was an unusual guy in there, so I went up and asked what he was doing here.

"You wanna' buy a wonderful, powerful, Magikarp for 500 yen?" he asked.

That feeling told me not to. "Uh… no. I think I'll pass…"

"Oh, come on! It's a great Pokémon!"

"No, that's okay…"

"Fine then. I guess some other Pokémon trainer will want it…"

I left him and decided I should go into Mt. Moon now. I slowly walked into the dimly lit cave, looking around. There were lots of trainers here! I walked further into the cave, feeling along the rough, damp, moldy wall. It was cool, yet slightly humid inside. I walked up to the first trainer.

"Oh, man, I got bit by a Zubat back there! It hurt like heck! Come on, let's battle!"

"Ok! Pikachu, go!"

"Zubat, go!"

Pikachu was faster and used Thundershock. He used Leech Life, a low-power Bug-type move. I used Thundershock again, and he fainted. He sent out Geodude. I withdrew Pikachu and sent out Nidoran. I was faster, so I used Double Kick. I used it a couple times, and eventually he fainted. After that battle, I decided to do a little check-up on my Pokémon.

Pidgey Level 14

Gust

Sand Attack

Quick Attack

Nidoran Level 14

Poison Sting

Tackle

Horn Attack

Double Kick

Pikachu Level 14

Thundershock

Thunder Wave

Tail Whip

Quick Attack

Well, they seemed to be doing pretty darn well. I walked further into the cave, and stopped when I felt an eerie presence. It wasn't scary or something stupid like that, but like someone was talking… in his or her head. Somebody was mad at his or her Abra, because it kept failing. They were fighting someone who was super effective… From that I assumed it was Paras, who was the only Bug-type Pokémon in the cave. So I took off running in the direction of the mental voice. I could barely see in the dim light, but I wanted to find out who it was. So finally I stopped, and looked around. And there the person was! It was a girl, but not a young one. Someone my age… I got a little closer, and then sneaked behind a rock. Apparently, this person was a psychic, and that was why she was using Abra. And I had been right! She was fighting a Paras! I watched closely. But then she turned around. I hid behind the rock.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" she asked apparently no one. I could see purple light coming from her eyes. It was eerie. But how did she know I was here- if she did? Maybe because she was psychic. So I decided it was useless to hide from a psychic person. I stood up.

"… I'm Zachi, from the town of Pallet…" I said, trying to be all dramatic.

"What are you doing here?"

"Coming through Mt. Moon to get to Cerulean, what else?"

"How did you know I was here, and why did you come OVER HERE!"

"You know the answer, don't you?" I asked, challenging her.

She turned to face me, and her eyes glowed bright purple. She laughed and threw a Pokéball. I threw the Pokéball with Pikachu in it. She sent out a Kadabra. Darn! How was I supposed to beat her! Nidoran was poison, so he would be useless against a psychic-type Pokémon. If only I had caught Paras! Of course, Kadabra was quite a bit faster than Pikachu, so she used Confusion. I used Thunder Wave to paralyze her Kadabra. Because it has 100 accuracy, it worked. Now I had a speed advantage. I used Tail Whip to lower his Defense. Fortunately, it worked. She used Confusion. I became Confused. I switched to Pidgey. She was fully paralyzed! I used Quick Attack. She used Confusion. I used Quick Attack. She used Confusion. I used Quick Attack. She was almost out, but Pidgey was closer to going out, and Pidgey wouldn't be able to take out Kadabra unless I got a critical hit. And that was unlikely. So I figured I had three choices:

Let Kadabra take out Pidgey and have Nidoran finish him off.

Hope that Nidoran could stand up to Confusion and use Horn Attack with him.

Try for a Critical Hit.

I decided to go with number 1, since it was my best bet. I used Quick Attack. It didn't take out Kadabra. But Kadabra got fully paralyzed again! Yes! It seemed like my blessings hadn't run out! I used Quick Attack again and won! All right! Pikachu and Pidgey grew to 15. Pikachu tried to learn Double Team, so I deleted Growl. I got about 600 yen for winning.

"Looks like I win," I said, putting my hands on my hips.

"Hmm," she said, smirking.

"Well, I'll be going now," I said, turning and walking out into the main area of the cave. But then I ran into a wild Paras! I had Pidgey out, so I withdrew him and sent out Nidoran. I used Horn Attack. He used Scratch. I used Horn Attack. Scratch. Tackle. Scratch. Leer. Scratch. I pulled out one of my 5 Pokeballs.

"Pokéball, go!" I said, throwing it. It sucked Paras in and fell to the ground. One shake. Two shakes. Three shakes. Ding! "All right! We got Paras!" I exclaimed, holding up my Pokeball. And then I heard someone laughing. I turned to see that girl again, laughing at me.

"What's so funny? What are you laughing about?" I exclaimed, hooking the ball to my belt. I shook my head and left the cave. She never really did stop laughing.

I went into the Pokémon center and had my Pokémon healed. I went back into Mt. Moon. I headed on down to the second floor. I walked up a couple of stairs, over some, down some more, and then saw a strange guy in black with an R on his shirt!

"Who are you!" I exclaimed, pulling out the Pokéball with Paras in it.

"Never mind that! Get out of here, brat!" He threw a Pokéball and it burst opened, revealing Rattata. Hmm. Was this a pumped-up Youngster thug? I threw my Pokéball, letting Paras out. We battled for a little bit, but I won. I got a tiny bit of money.

"How could I have lost to a brat like you?"

I laughed at him and ran past, rounding a corner. Another guy in black! I won, and kept on. I walked down another flight of stairs. I walked up another flight to see a SuperNerd standing over something I couldn't see.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"! These are two fossils! If you can beat me, I'll split my find with you!" he said, pulling out a Pokéball.

"All right. I'll go for that," I said, getting out my Pokéball with Paras in it. It was close, but I managed to win the battle. I got about 600 yen and he backed up, revealing the fossils. There were two, like he said. I looked at one, and it looked kind of spiral. The other was more dome shaped. I grabbed the one on the left, the spiral. He grabbed the other one. But before I left, something caught my eye. I walked over and picked it up. It was a Moon Stone! I put it in my backpack and ran off to left, down a flight of stairs, and climbed down another ladder. I walked down one more corridor and down another ladder. And then I was out! I had made it out of Mt. Moon! I ran, leaping down a couple of ledges. I ran all the way up to the Cerulean Pokémon Center. I went in and healed my Pokémon right away. I walked out, looking around the city. Strangely, everything was blue. I wondered when I was going to meet Michael and join him on his journey. I wondered how his team was doing. But I had more important things to do. Like beating Misty…

►To Be Continued…


	4. Episode 4

Episode 4: New Arrivals and a New Badge

I walked up to a guy in the Cerulean Pokémon center who had called my name.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"Did you know a guy named Bill invented the Pokémon storage system on the PC?" he asked.

"No…"

"Well, he did. He's also a long-time Pokémaniac. You should go see him; he might let you see his rare Pokémon,"

"That's sounds cool. It would help with my Pokédex,"

"Yeah,"

"Hey, thanks!"

"Anytime,"

I walked out of the center and headed north. I could hear water rushing. I went further north to see a large bridge with five trainers on it. I went up to the first one.

"Hey, who are you guys and what are you doing here?" I asked him. He was a Bug Catcher.

"We're the five trainers of this bridge. If you can beat all of us we'll give you something neat!"

"Ok, I challenge you!" I exclaimed, holding up Pidgey's Pokéball.

"Fine," he said. He threw a Pokéball.

"Weedle, go!"

"Pidgey, go!"

Pidgey was faster, so I started off with a Quick Attack. Weedle used Poison Sting. Pidgey used Quick Attack. Weedle used Poison Sting. Pidgey became poisoned! Pidgey used Quick Attack. Weedle fainted!

"Darn!" the Bug Catcher said, recalling his fallen Pokémon. He sent out Caterpie, and I sent out Paras. Caterpie used Tackle, and Paras used Scratch. Caterpie used Tackle, and I had Paras use Scratch. Caterpie used String Shot. Paras used Scratch. Caterpie fainted! Paras grew to level 8! I won! I got about 200 yen. I went back to the center and healed. I came back to face the second trainer, a female Junior Trainer. I beat her with some ease, healed, and came back for the third, a male Junior Trainer. I beat him too, healed, and went for the fourth. She was a female "Cool" Trainer. I beat her with less ease than the other two, but I won. I healed and came back for the fifth and final Trainer. He was a male "Cool" Trainer.

"Mankey, go!"

"Paras, go!"

Nidoran was 15, Pidgey was 16, Pikachu was 15, and Paras was 10. How was I supposed to beat a Mankey with my Pokémon? I didn't want to spoil Pidgey, and Pikachu wouldn't make it. I guess it's left up Nidoran and Paras. I decided Paras wouldn't stand a whole lot of a chance against a level 18 Mankey, so I decided to switch to Nidoran. Nidoran used Horn Attack, and Mankey came back with a Low Kick. They exchanged blows twice more, but at that point Nidoran was low in health. I pulled out a Potion and restored Nidoran's health, and the battle resumed. After exchanging blows a few more rounds, Mankey fainted!

"Yes! I win!" I exclaimed, returning Nidoran to his Pokéball.

"Heh…" he said.

Nidoran grew to level 16. "Huh?" I said, as something odd started happening. Nidoran was suddenly engulfed in bright light and started convulsing and changing. Nidoran was evolving. His legs got longer; he got bigger! His ears shrank a bit, and his spikes grew longer and sharper! All right! Nidoran evolved into Nidorino! But before I got a chance to ask for the prize for defeating the five trainers, another thug in black came up to me.

"You're pretty good… How about joining Team Rocket?" he said. Team _Rocket_? So that's what the _R_ stood for.

"No!" I exclaimed, backing up.

"Urgh… Well I'm gonna' make you pay, brat!"

He pulled out a Pokéball.

"Ekans, go!"

"Pikachu, go!" He threw a Pokéball, and I commanded Pikachu to go battle.

"Wrap the brat's Pokémon!"

"Thundershock!" Because he was Electric-type, Pikachu was faster. Wrap attack 3 times. I had Pikachu use Thundershock again. Ekans used Poison Sting. Thundershock. Wrap x4. Thundershock. Ekans fainted!

"Rattata, go!"

"Pikachu, come back! Paras, go!" Rattata was faster, so he used Quick Attack. Paras used Scratch. Quick Attack. Scratch—Critical hit! Rattata used Tail Whip. Paras's Defense fell. Scratch. Rattata fainted! I won! Paras grew to level 11!

"Scram, brat!" the thug said, pushing past me and running away. But he dropped something. I picked it up and inspected it. It was a Nugget! I put it in my backpack. I walked back to the Pokémon center and healed my Pokémon.

I ran out of the Pokémon center and went down to the Cerulean City Pokémart. I went in.

"How may I help you?" the clerk asked.

"I'd like to sell something," I said, reaching in my pack to get out the Nugget I had found.

"Ok, let's see what you've got,"

I placed the Nugget on the counter. The clerk looked surprised, and picked it up, inspecting it.

"Hmmm… It's in rather good shape. I'll give you 5000 yen for it," he said, placing it back on the counter.

"5000 YEN?" I exclaimed, rather loud. "Sure, I'll go for that!"

"Ok then!" the clerk said. He grabbed the Nugget and placed in the back. He typed a couple things on the register, and a drawer popped open. He pulled out some money, handed it to me, and closed the drawer. I grabbed the cash and left. Man, I had to find more of those things! 5000 yen for a little Nugget! I ran up back towards Route 24. I continued where I had left off. I was about to go on to Route 25, but I noticed a guy standing on a cliff. I walked up to him.

"Whatcha' doing?" I asked him.

"I'm not a very good trainer…"

"Ok…"  
"Well, I have this Charmander and I don't think I can raise it properly…"

"And…?"

"Well, if you'll take care of it well, I'll let you have it!"

"Really!"

"Yeah! You seem like a good trainer!"

"Well, sure! I'd love to raise your Charmander!"

"Ok!" He handed me a Pokéball. I grabbed it. "All right! I got Charmander!" I exclaimed. I put Charmander on my belt.

"Hey, thanks," he said.

"No, thanks to you!"

I walked on towards Route 25. There were quite a bit of trainers, and a lot of Hikers, which were a pain. But I made it through, somehow. I walked up to Bill's house. I went inside, and much to my amazement, there was a Pokémon standing there!

"Can you help me?" the Pokémon **said**.

"You… you can talk!" I exclaimed, taking a step back.

"I'm not a Pokémon. I'm Bill, but an experiment I was trying messed up, so now I look like a Pokémon,"

"Ok…"

"Here, when I walk inside this tube, just press that button on the computer," 'Bill' said.

"Ok…"

'Bill' walked inside the tube. I pressed the button he told me to press. A couple of lights flashed, and than I heard a noise. Boom! A man walked out of a tube on the other side of the room.

"Thank you! To show my gratitude, here's this!" he said, handing me something. I looked at it carefully. It was a ticket to the S.S. Anne!

"I would have gone, but this experiment is too important to leave behind for a party,"

"Ok, thanks!" I exclaimed, starting to leave.

"Hey, if you feel like it, check out some of my rare Pokémon on that PC over there," he said, pointing to the PC that I had pressed the button on.

"Ok!" I went over to it and looked at the Pokémon. Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon were all on there. They were all the evolved forms of Eevee. I let my Pokédex record the data, and left.

So, now I had Nidorino at 16, Pidgey at 16, Pikachu at 15, and Paras at 11, and my new Charmander, who was level 10. I went back to the Pokémon center and healed my Pokémon. Paras was going to need more training before I could face Misty, so I decided to go up to the grassy areas along Route 24 and fight some battles. After a while, Paras was at level 14 and had learned Stun Spore. I decided this would be an acceptable level, so I went back to the center, healed, and went inside the Cerulean gym.

I walked along the bridge that went through the gym. It was odd… the entire gym was like a big pool. This unusual bridge was the only way to get around. I was walking along it when I heard someone's voice cry out.

"Hey, you, stop! You're no match for Misty!"

I looked to see a female Swimmer swim up to the bridge. She climbed out of the pool and pulled out a Pokéball.

"Horsea, go!"

I smirked. This was going to be overkill.

"Paras, go!"

"Horsea, Bubble!"

"Paras, Stun Spore!"

Paras barely took any damage, and Horsea was paralyzed. Fortunately for me, Horsea only knew Bubble. Thus, I was sure I would win. Paras used Scratch, and Horsea used Bubble again. Paras used Scratch once more, and Horsea again used Bubble. Paras's Speed fell! He used Scratch again, and she used Bubble. Paras used Scratch one more time, and her Horsea fainted!

"Horsea, return!"

"Paras, return!"

"Goldeen, go!"

"Pikachu, go!"

Pikachu was faster than Goldeen, so I had him use Thundershock. Goldeen used Peck. It was ineffective. Thundershock. Goldeen fainted!

"All right!" I exclaimed, calling Pikachu back. I won! I got some cash and left to go heal my Pokémon. I came back, only to have to face another trainer. Paras grew to 15, and Pikachu grew to 16.

Update on my team:

Nidorino L. 16

Leer

Tackle

Horn Attack

Double Kick

Pidgey L. 16

Gust

Sand Attack

Quick Attack

Pikachu L. 16

Thundershock

Thunder Wave

Double Team

Quick Attack

Paras L. 15

Scratch

Stun Spore

And, of course:

Charmander L. 10

Scratch

Growl

Ember

I had to fight one more trainer before I could reach Misty. I won, and Paras grew to level 16. I got some cash and went back to heal my Pokémon. I came back in the gym and walked up to Misty.

"Hello, I'm Misty of the Cerulean gym. I specialize in Water-type Pokémon," she said.

"That's great and all, but will you just fight me?" I retorted sarcastically.

"A battle? Hm! You'll be sorry!" she exclaimed, while pulling out a Pokéball. I laughed.

"Nidorino, go!"

"Staryu, go!"

I was surprised. Her Staryu was level 18, pretty high. Nidorino was faster though, somehow.

"Nidorino, Horn Attack!"

"Staryu, Water Gun!"

Horn Attack didn't do much. Water Gun did a little bit more, but not much. Fortunately for me, her Staryu didn't know Recover yet. And if I was blessed, Starmie didn't either.

"Nidorino, try for poisoning! Poison Sting!"

"Staryu, give it a Tackle!"

Poison Sting barely did more than Tackle, but that was only due to S. T. B. (same-type-bonus)

Staryu wasn't poisoned, unfortunately, and that made using Poison Sting a waste of a move. But I'm pretty persistent, so I had Nidorino use Poison Sting again. Staryu used Water Gun. Yes! Staryu was poisoned!

"Nidorino, try for another Horn Attack!"

"Staryu, Water Gun!"

Nidorino was almost out, and poisoning was not making much of a use of itself. Bad strategy! I scolded myself for my foolishness and recalled Nidorino. I sent out Pidgey, so as to preserve Pikachu for the battle against Starmie.

"Pidgey, go! Use your Quick Attack!" I commanded.

"Staryu, Tackle!"

I had Pidgey use Quick Attack for power rather than speed, seeing as it was a better move than Gust. Thank God this girl was too stupid to know about the Pidgey family's low Special abilities. Pidgey used Quick Attack, and Staryu used Tackle again. Quick Attack. Staryu fainted!

"Good job, Pidgey!" I exclaimed, recalling Pidgey.

"That was good, Staryu." Misty recalled Staryu and threw another Pokéball. "Starmie, go!" she commanded.

I grinned, knowing that the battle was mine. I reached back and unzipped my backpack, out of which Pikachu jumped. "All right you rat, show me what you're made of," I said, nudging him toward Misty's Starmie with my foot.

"Starmie, don't fail Cerulean Gym now! Hit that Pikachu with a Bubblebeam!" Misty exclaimed, pointing fiercely at Pikachu.

I pursed my lips. Sure, Pikachu had an elemental advantage, but a level 21 Starmie is a formidable opponent for a level 16 Pikachu. I swallowed hard, determined to win this battle. "Thundershock, rat! Let's take this girl out!" Bubblebeam was making a noticeable impact on Pikachu, but likewise Thundershock was getting through to Starmie, as well. Our Pokémon continued to trade blows.

"Bubblebeam!

"Thundershock!"

"Bubblebeam!"

Darn it, Pikachu was starting to wear out! I realized quickly I'd have to do something to revive his spirits. "Pikachu, drink this Potion," I said, handing it a small Erlenmeyer flask filled with a strange green liquid. Pikachu drank it, but made a sour face. He didn't like it? Too bad! I wasn't about to go hunting down those new-fangled violet-colored spray-on potions.

"Thundershock!" He seemed to be doing a little better.

"Bubblebeam!" Starmie, on the other hand, looked to be almost out.

"Thundershock!" Starmie fainted!

"Yes!" I exclaimed, leaping into the air. I reached down and swept Pikachu up in a hug. I was rather surprised with myself, seeing as this little electric rodent was the whole reason I didn't have Eevee right now. But something told me I would find one eventually.

"Ok, ok, here's the Cascade Badge," Misty said, admitting defeat. She handed me a small little blue pin in the shape of a drop of water.

"Yes, I got the Cascade Badge!" I exclaimed, pinning it to the inside of my vest.

I got a lot of yen. I walked out of the gym and went into the Pokémon center. I healed my Pokémon and walked back out into the dimming sunlight. Man, the day was almost over. I decided I would be able to make it to Vermilion City by sundown. I ran off towards the route to Vermilion City, but realized a little tree was blocking the way. Darn, none of my Pokémon knew Cut. I would have to take the long way around. I headed to the northeast section of the town only to find some poor guy's house ransacked. His potted plants had been overturned, his table and chairs destroyed, and his property left in ruins. I cautiously stepped inside to see the apparent residents looking very upset. I cautiously approached them and asked about the vandalism, the most glaring sign of which was the human-sized hole in the back wall of the house.

"I…don't know anything…it all just happened so fast…" the unhappy fellow said, his face in his hands. "The guy just came in and blew through that wall." I looked up from the guy and curiously crept through the hole in the wall. Outside, I saw a conspicuous guy standing around nervously, wearing black clothes. He reminded me of the guy I had seen on the bridge, the Team Rocket guy.

"I don't know anything, really! I'm just an innocent bystander!" he said, looking around nervously when I approached him.

"Yeah right," I said, pulling out a Pokéball. I quickly beat him.

"I'm going!" he said, and took off. I noticed he dropped something and I bent down to pick it up. It was TM28! Dig! Yes! I put it in my backpack and went back to heal my Pokémon. I came back to the spot where I had battled the vandal and headed south. I made my way around the outskirts of Cerulean and went by the daycare center and right into the entrance to the underground path. I re-emerged a few moments later, fortunately unharmed. Sometimes thugs hung around the underground paths. I was surprised there were no more of those "Rockets." I started walking on the grassy route when I saw that girl from Mt. Moon again.

"Hey, you, wait up!" I exclaimed, running up to her. She turned around slowly.

"What do you want?" she asked. Oddly, her eyes were not illuminated violet.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Vermilion, where does it look like?"

"Cool! I'm heading that way, to meet with my cousin Michael. He's a Pokémon trainer too,"

"…"

"Well, you're a really good trainer, and I was wondering if you'd like to join us on our Pokémon journey…" I crossed my toes, figuring it would do no good to cross them in my head. What was I thinking? As if she was going to join me on Pokémon journey!

"Sure."

"Ok," I agreed, desperately holding back the big "WHAT?" that was about to slip out of my mouth. I was amazed that she actually said yes! Well, now I just needed to hook up with Michael, and then I could be off on my Pokémon journey! I grinned to myself slightly.

►To Be Continued…


	5. Episode 5

Episode 5: Welcome to the Team, Michael

I turned to the girl.

"Hey, uh, I think I might-," I started, but she interrupted me.

"Sabrina," she said, not even looking at me.

"Oh, ok…"

I turned back to the path. So her name was Sabrina? That sounded strangely familiar from somewhere… Oh well. Right now my team was doing pretty well, but I was going to need to train for a while before I had a chance of going up against Lt. Surge, the leader of Vermillion's gym. The path we were following turned a corner, and I noticed a Bug Trainer on the side of the road. I switched Pidgey to my first position, but that feeling told me I needed Pikachu. Just as well, I figured, seeing as all the guy probably had was Metapods and Weedles or whatever. I walked up to him.

"Care to battle my excellent Pokémon?" he asked confidently.

"Sure thing," I said, agreeing to his challenge.

"Butterfree, go!"

"Pikachu, go!"

He had whopping level 20 Butterfree. Impressive. But he was no match for Pikachu. Besides, that was his only Pokémon, and I had 3 more to back me up.

"Stun Spore!"

"Thunder Wave!" Darn it! I should have known he would use a move like that. Now my turn was wasted, unless Stun Spore failed. It didn't. Fortunately, Thunder Wave didn't either.

"Confusion!"

"Thundershock!"

Naturally, Butterfree got the first move. Confusion was decently effective, but Butterfree's part Electric-type made him more vulnerable to Thundershock.

"Poison Powder!" But, it failed.

"Thundershock!"

All right! What kind of idiot was this kid!

"Poison Powder!" But, it failed.

"Thundershock!"

This battle was going great! This kid was a complete and utter moron, even with an actually good Pokémon.

"Confusion!"

"Thundershock!" Butterfree fainted! I won! I got some yen.

"Well, you're pretty powerful, but you got lucky…" the kid said, returning his fainted Butterfree.

I was surprised when Sabrina butted in.

"Shut up, kid. You're lucky you did as well as you did. He wasn't 'lucky', you're just an idiot! Do you know _anything_? Poison Powder will _never_ work when a Pokémon is paralyzed!" she said, remaining monotonous for most of the time. I didn't know Sabrina for very long, but I could tell she wasn't a big chatterbox. But, it made sense. She probably hated bug trainers. I laughed internally at that.

"Wha-! Hey!" the kid exclaimed. Sabrina just disappeared. I figured she would reappear later, so I kept going.

"Hey, you!" the kid said, getting my attention. I stopped.

"What?"

"Tell your dumb GIRLFRIEND that she-," he started, but I cut him off short.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!" I exclaimed, wide-eyed.

"YOU HEARD ME!"

"WHY, I OUTTA'…"

"BRING IT ON!"

"DON'T MIND IF I DO!"

I started to pounce on the guy as if to beat him up, but someone stopped me.

"Hey, Zachi!" I turned at the sound of the familiar voice. It was Michael!

"Yo, Michael!" I called, walking over to him and completely forgetting about the brat.

"Where've you been?" he asked.

"Well, I just recently got here-,"

"And you're ALREADY in a fight…?"

I scoffed.

"You're gonna' get it…"

"Calm down!"

"So…How many Pokémon you got?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Four! Nidorino, Nidorina, Drowzee, and Rattata,"

"Cool. I have five. Nidorino, Pidgey, Pikachu, Paras, and a Charmander some guy just donated to me in Cerulean City,"

"I thought you ditched the rodent…?"

"I got him back out for Misty, and he's made some use of himself since, but I _still_ want Eevee really badly…"

"Hey, I heard somebody say they got an Eevee from a guy in Celadon," Michael casually added.

My eyebrows perked. "Who! Where! When! How!" I hoarded him with questions.

"Calm down! We can't go to Celadon just yet!"

"And why the heck not!"

"We don't have Cut!"

"Urgh…" I said, lowering my head and growling under my breath.

"Forget that now! Come on, Vermilion City is ahead!" he said, running on down the path. I quickly followed.

The two of us arrived in Vermilion City moments later. Michael and I went into his house and sat down at the table.

"Hey, Aunt Terry!" I said, giving my aunt a hug.

"Well, Zachi, we've been expecting you. It's pretty late; why are you out by yourself so late?" she said, sipping some tea.

"I'm sorry it took so long, but you know…"

Just then, Sabrina decided to make herself reappear. She walked up to the table and sat down beside me.

Aunt Terry gave me a look of superlative confusion. "And who is this young lady…?" she stuttered out.

I was still confused, so it took me a moment to answer.

"Uh… This is Sabrina… She's a psychic trainer. She's coming on the journey with Michael and me," I spat out between pauses of confusion.

"Oh, ok," Aunt Terry slightly winked at me. I blushed slightly and quickly gave her an annoyed look. Where was everyone getting that idea?

"So… when are we gonna' leave?" I asked, changing the subject.

"As soon as we get the Thunder Badge, no duh!" Michael said, finally speaking up.

"Well, I just happened to get one of _these_," I said, holding my ticket to the SS Anne.

"Woah!" Michael exclaimed, getting up to examine the ticket. "Where did you get that!"

"Bill,"

"Bill-who?"

"Bill the Pokémaniac. He lives north of Cerulean City,"

"Well, I can't come,"  
"Sure you can," Sabrina said quietly.

We both turned to Sabrina. What was she talking about?

"How?" we asked simultaneously.

"I'll sneak you on," she said, ever so slightly deviant.

"Cool!" Michael exclaimed.

"All right!" I chimed.

"I guess that'll be okay…" Aunt Terry said, answering the question we were both about to ask.

Michael and I exchanged high-fives.

"Thanks a ton, Sabrina," I said, getting up. "Come on, let's go train!" Michael and I ran out of the house and Sabrina followed, walking. I ran up to some tall grass and started walking around. Michael did the same, and Sabrina did too. Apparently she needed to train also.

Well, I won a lot, lost a little less, and patronized the Pokémon Center more than anything. Michael's training was apparently fairly successful too. As for Sabrina, her Kadabra rocked, and her Abra got quite a bit closer to becoming a Kadabra. We fought random battles for about 3 hours, until the sun was completely down. Then we all healed our Pokémon AGAIN and went back to Michael's house.

"Well, you all look tired," Aunt Terry said as the three of us sat down. We were all breathing heavily, except for Sabrina, who managed to keep her cool somehow, but she didn't seem like the type to lose strength—or get sweaty and tired.

"Yeah… I'm exhausted… I'm gonna' shower and hit… the hay…" I said between gasps of air.

"Me too," Michael said, trying to save breath.

"I'll do the same," Sabrina agreed, getting up and walking towards the stairs at the other end of the room. By that time we could all breath again.

"Well, you know what they say, ladies first," I said, walking over to the couch to wait. Michael joined me and turned on the TV. We flipped through channels for about 15 minutes, and by that time Sabrina was out of the shower. I leaped up and raced Michael over to the stairs. I made it there first, so I got in before Michael. I was out soon, and Michael was in.

I walked into Michael's room and opened my backpack, pulling out my nightclothes. I threw them on really quickly and crawled into my sleeping bag that was on the floor. The house had three rooms: living room/dining room, Michael's room, and Aunt Terry's room. I was sleeping on Michael's floor in my sleeping bag, and Sabrina was on the couch downstairs.

Michael came into the room dripping wet, clad in nothing but his bath towel. He went into the closet, turned on the light, and closed the door. He re-emerged a few moments later, dry and clothed. He leaped into his bed and turned the light out. My only reaction was one of shear befuddlement. My friends never cease to amaze me, be they disappearing or dressing as quickly as Superman.

The next morning I awoke slowly (as I always do) to the sound of Michael's voice. He always woke me up whenever I spent the night with him. I told him not to, but he ignored me always. I slowly got out of my sleeping bag and started rolling it up. I stuck it on its place on my backpack, yawned, and slowly trudged down the stairs. Sabrina was sitting on the couch, surprisingly watching TV. I walked over to the other couch and plopped on it, slumping.

"What kind of Pokémon trainer slumps on the couch?" Michael asked me, wide awake.

"What kind of Pokémon trainer wakes up at 7:30 AM after training until 11:00 PM the previous night?" I sleepily oozed back.

Michael gave me a crossed look and sat down beside me.

"You three, it's time for breakfast!" Aunt Terry called. The only reason I got off the couch was because I could smell the pancakes. I trudged over to the table and ate quickly. Michael was done before me. However, I managed to beat Sabrina, who did everything slowly. But don't all women? Heh. I got up from the table and put my plate in the sink. I drank a small glass of water and walked back upstairs. Michael was already up there. We quickly changed and hurried back downstairs.

"Come on Sabrina, hurry up!" we exclaimed, opening the door to go outside. Sabrina finished up and went up into Aunt Terry's room. She re-emerged a few moments later and joined us. We hurried outside into the morning. I could smell the salt from the nearby sea. I would be on the SS Anne very soon, joining the party. Maybe I would see some rare Pokémon, or maybe get some rare Pokémon. Either way, I knew there were a lot of trainers on the ship, so I knew I would get plenty of training.

"So… What's our first stop?" Michael asked, looking around.

"I say we explore the town," I said, starting to walk away.

"But I live here…" Michael protested. "I don't need to explore. I all ready know this place." He reluctantly followed Sabrina and me. The first building we went up to was the "Pokémon Fan Club". We walked in to see a large table with four trainers around it. I went up to one of them.

"Hey, don't I have a really cute Clefairy?" he asked me, showing me a Clefairy **doll**.

"Is that some kind of joke?" I asked, perplexed.

"No…" he said, as if the suggestion that he might be joking was the craziest thing he'd ever heard.

"So what exactly do you guys and, er, gals do in here?" I asked.

"Go to talk to the head of the club. He's sitting right over there," the kid said, pointing. I walked up to him.

"Are the head of the club?" I asked.

"Yes,"

"Tell me about the club,"

"I want to tell you about my favorite Pokémon," he said. What the heck?

"Ok… I guess I have time," I said, growing more puzzled.

"It's Rapidash… So strong… So powerful… Beautiful…" He went on like that for about ten minutes. When he was finally done, he looked at his watch and said, "Woah! Look at the time! I have to get back to club affairs! But because I took so long, take this as a token of my appreciation!" Well, it seemed like everyone and their dog was giving me something. He handed me a little ticket or something. Another ticket to the SS Anne? No. A Bike Voucher! All right! I took it.

"Thanks!" I exclaimed.

"Sure. Now run along," he said, suddenly stern.

I didn't like how he acted as if we were four years old, but I was glad I had a Bike Voucher. I ran out of the building.

"Michael!" I exclaimed.

"What?"

"Where's the bike shop?"

"Over there," he said, pointing to it. I took off over to it and went inside.

"I'd like to buy a bike," I said.

"Ok, that's 1 million yen," he replied, typing on the register. I handed him the voucher.

"Oh! This is a Bike Voucher! Well, pick out the bike of your choice!"

I walked over to the bike selection. There was a nice, red mountain bike.

"I'll take this one," I said.

"Ok, it's all yours,"

I grabbed it by the handlebars and wheeled it out.

"Awesome!" Michael exclaimed, examining the bike.

"It's great, isn't it?" I said, sitting down. I rode around town quickly and came back a few moments later.

"Now it's time to get on the SS Anne," I exclaimed, peddling off.

►To Be Continued…


	6. Episode 6

Episode 6: SS Anne

I rode over to the dock in southern Vermilion City. I hopped off my bike. How was I going to carry this thing around? Then, I noticed a tag on it with instructions on how to do something to the bike. I read them and they told me the bike was collapsible. So, I pushed some bars and other things, and it turned out rather small. I put it in my backpack and walked onto the dock. I followed it until I finally arrived at the boarding zone. There was a random fat sailor blocking the way.

"You have to have a ticket to get on board," he said. I flashed him the ticket. "Oh, well, please, come right this way…" He beckoned, stepping out of the way. I walked across the bridge that connected the boat and the dock. "I'm going to need a ticket for you two before you can go on," said the fat sailor, stepping forth and blocking Michael and Sabrina. Sabrina looked at him, and her eyes flared a brilliant violet. He backed off without saying anything. We proceeded to board the ship and ended up in a long, quiet hallway. But there _was_ a source of noise coming from somewhere, so we followed it. At the end of the hallway there was a huge room, apparently for partying, because that's what everyone was doing. I noticed a particularly odd couple on the floor. The girl had magenta-colored hair that was about as a long as Sabrina's hair, and the guy had indigo-colored hair that came to his neck. They seemed like a normal couple, but they gave me a weird feeling. That's when I noticed the big R on their shirts. They were Team Rocket members! I elbowed Michael, assuming Sabrina already knew.

"Michael! Those two over there are Team Rocket members!" I whispered, pointing at them. Michael looked at them and gave me a weird look.

"What? What's Team Rocket?" he asked, confused. I sweat-dropped.

"Team Rocket is a gang of thugs! They always have that big R and usually they wear all black,"

"Oh, ok," he said, understanding. "So what are we going to do?"

"Well, they seem like they don't notice us, and they aren't really doing anything right now, but I would like to keep an eye on them," I responded, maintaining my cautious stare.

"They're going to try to steal all the Pokémon," Sabrina added randomly.

"What? How do—never mind…" I started, realizing the answer to my question all ready.

"How does she know?" Michael asked, clueless.

"She's psychic, dummy," I said, quietly hitting him on the back.

"PSYCHIC!" Michael exclaimed, returning the hit.

"Yeah, yeah…" I muttered.

"Woah…"

"Come on, let's get out of here. I wanna' see the kind of trainers they have on board anyway," I declared, turning away from the dance room.

"Ok. That sounds like a good idea," Michael agreed. We walked back into the hallway-maze. Unfortunately, there were two paths, and three of us.

"Ok, Michael, you go that way, and I'll go this way," I said, pointing to two different hallways.

"And how about Sabrina? Is she going to stay here?" Michael asked. I could have sworn he looked amused.

"Er, um, no…"

"Then is she going with you?"

"No! I mean, yes, but no," I said, trying to get the point across. I could tell that Michael had me in a word game. He grinned. "Oh, you know what I mean!" I walked off, Sabrina following. Michael snickered and left down the other hallway.

The way the ship was designed was rather strange. Everything in it was just hallways and doors. Knocking on every door to find out if a room contained a Pokémon trainer was quite embarrassing. There were a lot of Sailors and Gentlemen ready to do battle. The first Gentleman I fought was rather easy.

"Pidgey, go!"

"Go, Growlite!" Most Gentlemen had Growlithes, or some other weak Fire-type Pokémon, like Ponyta.

"Pidgey, Quick Attack!"

"Growlithe, use Leer,"

Quick Attack did some damage, and Leer failed.

"Quick Attack!"

"Ember," Well, Ember did better than usual, mostly because Pidgey has very low Special.

"Quick Attack!"

"Roar," But it failed.

"Quick Attack!" Growlithe fainted!

"Growlithe, go," the Gentleman instructed, issuing forth yet another Growlithe.

"Pidgey, return. Nidorino, go!" I instructed.

The second battle was quite a bit easier than the first. Nidorino got the first move and used Horn Attack. Growlithe used Ember. Nidorino used Horn Attack, and Growlithe used Ember. Horn Attack. Growlithe fainted!

Well, my team was really kicking butt. Here's the scoop:

Nidorino L. 19

Poison Sting

Tackle

Horn Attack

Double Kick

Pidgey L. 17

Gust

Sand Attack

Quick Attack

Pikachu L. 18

Thundershock

Thunder Wave

Double Team

Quick Attack

Paras L. 20

Scratch

Stun Spore

Leech Life

I had deposited Charmander in Bill's PC yesterday. Paras was in bad need of evolving. He was weak with only three moves, but fortunately I could teach him Cut soon. Sabrina and I had split up a while ago, because the hallway we had been traveling through split in two different directions. I was defeating every trainer I found, but I needed to go and heal my Pokémon soon. I looked at the door I was beside to save my place so I wouldn't have to figure out which trainers I had already battled. I turned and ran down to the hallway Sabrina was in. I found her quickly.

"I'll have Abra use Teleport when we find Michael," she said, apparently knowing that I was ready to heal my Pokémon team.

"Sounds good," I agreed. We both went looking for Michael. We found him soon afterwards, and we all teleported back to the Pokémon center. We healed and came back to the ship. I don't know why the ship wasn't getting ready to sail yet. Somebody had told me something was wrong with the captain, but I didn't know what.

I went back to the place I left off and started battling more trainers. My Pokémon were shooting up levels. They were all level 20 now, except for Pidgey. I decided I should evolve Nidorino now so he could learn Thrash. I pulled the Moon Stone out.

"Nidorino, come out of your Pokéball," I commanded. Nidorino popped out. I bent down next to him. How was I supposed to use this thing? Suddenly, Nidorino jumped and ate the stone right out of my hand. He plopped to the ground. "Nidorino! Spit that out!" I exclaimed, trying to pry his mouth open. Suddenly, a wave of energy shocked me back. What the heck! Nidorino cried out and started shaking his head. His back started throbbing and his skin started turning a mixture of violet and brown. Spikes shot out of his back, and his ears grew larger. His legs began to grow, and a tail sprouted from his lower back. He was evolving! I watched the strangely horrific and yet interesting process as Nidorino evolved into Nidoking. Nidorino (or what you might call him) was now upright but not finished with the process. His tail grew longer, and spikes emerged from it. His skin firmed and then hardened. His teeth grew. Finally, the changes stopped. Nidorino, now Nidoking, let out a fierce cry. I embraced my new Nidoking.

"Nidoking, return to your Pokéball!" I commanded, returning my newly evolved Pokémon. I went into the next room with a trainer. I decided I should get Pidgey to level up, so he was going to fight the next battle. The trainer was a weak Gentleman with a Growlithe and a Ponyta. I won, got some yen, and started to return Pidgey when it gave some chirps.

What the-! Pidgey was evolving! His wingspan spread, and his body grew. A lot of the fluffy, downy feathers he had as a Pidgey disappeared, leaving him refined and more mature-looking. His tail feathers grew, some of them slightly different colors.. After a few moments of changing, he stopped and let out a caw. All right! Pidgey had turned into Pidgeotto! Well, I was just having a flood of Pokémon evolutions! In four more levels, Paras would evolve too. But I was thinking about when I should or could evolve Pikachu. I decided I would evolve him when he learned his last move, Thunder. That way he would be a more powerful Raichu.

I started fighting more trainers. By the way, Pikachu had learned Slam at level 20. The trainers were easy as usual. A couple more rooms, and then the hallway came to an end. I turned back and went down the other hallway. I found Sabrina, at the end, fighting another trainer. She had two Kadabras and they were really doing well. She beat the trainer.

"Well, I'm done liberating my section of trainers, and apparently you are too. So how about we find Michael?" I asked.

"Sounds good. He's looking for us right now," she complied.

"Ok," We walked back down the halls and found Michael doing as Sabrina said, looking for us.

"I'm done with my section. How about we go back and heal our Pokémon, then return and see the captain?" Michael said.

"Why do we need to see the captain?" I asked, puzzled.

"Well, according to some trainers, he's sick to his stomach. That's why the ship hasn't left port yet."

"Well, paying him a visit sounds great. We'll do that as soon as we get back from healing our Pokémon. Speaking of which, how are your Pokémon doing?" I asked.

"Great. Nidorino is at level 20, Nidorina is a Nidoqueen at level 20, Drowzee's doing well, and Rattata is a Raticate," Michael informed.

"You don't have another Moon Stone?" I asked.

"Naw…"

"Well, my Nidorino is a Nidoking, level 20, Pidgey is a level 18 Pidgeotto, Paras is level 20, and Pikachu is level 20,"

"My two Kadabras are level 26," Sabrina said monotonously.

"Cool," I chimed.

The three of us went back to the entrance of the ship and left. We went and healed our Pokémon and came back.

"Ok, we need to find the captain and see what's up with him and why he's so sick or whatever," I said, looking for a different place.

"Why don't we ask someone where he is?" Michael suggested.

"Perfect. Come on, let's go into the party room," I said, walking off. Michael and Sabrina followed. I walked into the huge room and walked up to a Gentleman who was drinking some punch.

"Excuse me, sir, where is the captain?" I asked politely.

"He's up those stairs and on the left," the old man said, pointing at a stairwell across the room.

"Thanks a lot," I said.

"Sure thing," he replied courteously.

We walked quickly over towards the staircase but stopped in our tracks when we noticed everyone was staring in horror at the adjacent end of the room. The three of us stopped and turned to see the two Rocket members who had been dancing earlier standing on the stage in the room in a ridiculous pose with a Meowth between them.

"Prepare for trouble!" began the female Rocket.

"And make it double!" came the next line from the male Rocket.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!" chimed the Meowth.

"What the…?" I stammered, confused. This was obviously Team Rocket, but… Jessie? James? I assumed those were the names of that guy and girl. They were dressed in reversed Rocket attire. They were wearing white with black gloves and boots and had a big red R on their shirts. They had some kind of strange machine with them. It looked like a vacuum almost.

"All right, give us all your Pokémon!" Jessie exclaimed, flipping on a switch that was on the machine. Suddenly, a huge sucking force started pulling through the entire room. My Pokéballs started trembling on my belt. Other people were losing their Pokéballs, which were being sucked into the big machine. All my Pokéballs flew off. I saw Pikachu holding tightly to my pants leg. I reach down and picked him up in my arms.

"I _have_ to get my Pokémon back!" I hollered to Michael and Sabrina over the loud whirring noise of the machine.

►To Be Continued…


	7. Episode 7

Episode 7: Devastation!

I was having a hard time avoiding getting sucked into the machine myself.

"Pikachu, use Thundershock!" I commanded. He did so, but it didn't seem to affect the machine much. Why wasn't Sabrina using her psychic abilities to turn it off? I started to slowly trudge my way over to the stairwell the Gentleman had told us about.

"Where are you going!" Michael yelled at me.

"To the captain's quarters! We have to do something about this!" I exclaimed back.

"Ok!"

I started running. Finally, I made it there after what seemed like an eternity. The sucking force didn't reach into the stairwell. I ran up the stairs, and in the direction the Gentleman had told me. I went up to the captain's quarters and knocked loudly. Surely he could hear the noise! Right?

"Come in…" came a sickly voice. I opened the door and walked in. Gross! It smelled like barf inside!

"Urh, um…" I started, not breathing through my nose. "We have a MAJOR problem downstairs!"

"The Rockets? I know, but I can't do anything! I am so seasick, I can't stop barfing," he replied lamely.

"Uh, yeah, I sort of noticed…" I trailed off.

I walked over to his desk and saw a book. _Getting over Seasickness_, it was titled. I opened it and flipped through the pages quickly. I walked over to the captain and rubbed his back quickly.

"Oh! Oh, I feel a million times better!" he exclaimed, standing up. "I know this sounds crazy, but that did it!"

I grinned proudly.

"Well, come on! We've got work to do!" I exclaimed, running out of his room and down the stairs. The situation downstairs had only gotten worse. Everyone had lost his or her Pokéballs and now the only Pokémon I saw out there was Pikachu! He was clinging to Sabrina, who was holding him tightly. I ran down and joined my friends.

"Here, Pikachu," I said, calling him. He dashed over to me and I scooped him up. I stuffed him in my backpack.

"Well, is the captain going to do something?" Michael asked with strain. Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, they did. Suddenly, the boat started lurching everywhere. The sucking finally stopped. I could hear the machine cooling down as it shut off. The lights went out and the room slid to the right. A lot of people fell and started sliding across the slick, polished wooden floor. That included Michael, Sabrina and me. I slammed into the wall, letting out an "ouch." I tried to stand up, but stumbled face-forward when the boat churned to the left, causing the room to slant again. What the heck was going on! Thank God Pikachu was in my backpack, otherwise I would have lost him by now.

"What is going on!" I hollered into the black room. Nobody said anything. I stood up and started trying to find my way around. But it was rather difficult, seeing as the room was slanting right to left constantly. I fell again. If I didn't have long pants on, I probably would have skinned both my knees by now. I reached back and pulled Pikachu out of my backpack.

"Pikachu, use Thundershock on the light bulb. Maybe we can make it light up again," I commanded him, pointing at the ceiling. Unfortunately, neither one of us knew exactly where the light bulb was. So, Pikachu just shot out at a random spot in the ceiling, and wood isn't exactly a wonderful conductor of electricity, so nothing happened. Blast it! I picked up Pikachu and put him back in my backpack.

"Sabrina, do you know what's going on?" I yelled to her through the darkness. I saw two purple eyes glow across the room. Well, at least she heard me.

"The captain can't steer the ship. The machine Team Rocket was using sucked out the power on the ship," she responded. Strange, she didn't even sound worried.

I tried to stand up again and fell once more. Suddenly, there was a loud crash. I heard some sort of strange rushing noise, and the horrible truth finally sank in. We had crashed! I didn't feel any water nearby, and I didn't hear any, but I knew it would be here all too soon. If only Pikachu knew Flash… I looked around again, and this time I could see slightly because my eyes had adjusted to the darkness. Michael was nearby, so I reached out and grabbed his arm. I felt him jump.

"Michael, it's just me!" I called out.

"What are you doing?" he replied.

"We've got to get off the ship! It's crashed!"

"Really!"

I growled, but I don't think he heard me.

"Come on!"

"What about Sabrina?"

"She's listening to us, I'm sure. I think she can take care of herself anyway,"

"So you're just going to assume that and leave?"

"Well, what is your plan?"

I felt something move through the darkness towards us and looked to see the two purple eyes.

"Well, are we going to go or not?"

I still had Michael's arm in my grip when I stood up. I slowly tried to walk back over to the exit/entrance. The boat lurched, and the three of us fell. I got back up and kept going. I fell several times again before I finally made it there. I looked, and we were back in the hallway that split up.

"Come this way. When I was battling trainers, I found a stairwell," Michael said, leading us down the hall he battled in.

Sabrina and I quickly followed. He led us down a few corridors, and then we arrived at the stairwell. I could see why he didn't use it. It was pitch-black down there. I quickly hustled down the stairs and soon realized why it was so dark. The place was flooded almost to the roof! Then I remembered what I had forgotten. My Pokémon! Were they okay? Where were they?

"We have to get our Pokémon back!" I said quickly.

"You're right," Michael replied.

"Come on, then!"

We took off running back to the dance room, slamming into the wall a couple of times. We arrived and ran to the front of the room. I saw the huge machine that Team Rocket had been using. Fortunately, Team Rocket was nowhere in sight. But how was I supposed to get my Pokémon out of the stupid machine? I went up closer and realized it was just a big vacuum. So, I fumbled around in the darkness with the vacuum bag until I got it off. I reached down into the bag and felt all the Pokéballs. I started throwing them out into the room, yelling for my Pokémon.

"Nidoking! Pidgeotto! Paras! Where are you!" I hollered frantically. Nothing. I heard some of the Pokéballs open behind me. Finally, I threw out the last of them. I turned around and hollered for them again. I heard a flapping noise and felt something land on my shoulder.

"Pidgeotto?" I questioned to the object on my shoulder.

Pidgeotto let out a caw to signal it was he.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. I grabbed one of the Pokéballs and returned Pidgeotto. I heard some clanging noises in the dark room and felt something powerful grab my arm fiercely. Nidoking!

"Return, Nidoking," I commanded, returning him to his Pokéball. Something scampered up and scratched my leg, and I realized it was Paras. I returned him.

"Ok! Let's go now!" I said. Michael reached out with his arm and stopped me.

"What is it!" I exclaimed, getting impatient.

"Hey, we don't have _our_ Pokémon yet, you know!"

I stopped and frowned, realizing he was right.

"Well, hurry up!"

Michael starting calling out for his Nidorino, Nidoqueen, Drowzee, and Raticate. Soon, they all returned and so did Sabrina's Pokémon. The three of us took off, heading back for that stairwell Michael had found. We arrived after fumbling around in the dark for a few minutes, and started slowly proceeding down into the flooded area. Unfortunately, none of us had a Water-type Pokémon, so we had to swim. I told Pikachu to not use any electrical moves, otherwise he would fry us all. He agreed, and I shoved him in my pack, diving into the water.

The water was frigid and dark. I had no idea where I was going, so I surfaced and attempted to look around. I could barely see where I was going in the darkness, so I treaded water. Eventually, I looked around and noticed I couldn't see Michael or Sabrina. Where had they gone? Suddenly, I saw something appear from the water's surface and realized it was Sabrina's head. So, she was there. But that didn't answer the question as to where Michael was. I proceeded down a flooded hallway. I noticed that it seemed to become a dead-end, and submerged quickly. I felt around on the wall for a door, and I found one. I turned the wheel/crank to open the door, and swam through. I realized that I was getting lower, and then I hit a concrete floor. I looked up to see Michael quickly close the door and wheel it back shut.

"Ouch! Where have _YOU _been!" I exclaimed, getting up and rubbing my sore knees and elbows. Michael grinned at me. "Hey, where'd Sabrina go?" I asked, looking around.

Somebody stepped out of nowhere, and it hit me that it was Sabrina. How could I have missed her? There was nowhere to hide in the small hallway! I assumed it was some psychic thing and forgot about it. But then I got a look at her. In dripping wet clothes, I noticed her figure and quickly turned, blushing slightly. She didn't seem to notice, fortunately. Maybe she hadn't been reading my mind right then. I slowly stood up and brushed my wet hands off. I looked down at myself and examined my soaking body. I was still dripping.

"This one of the reasons why my hair is in a bur!" Michael exclaimed to me. He and I always fought about how ridiculous burs looked, but I guess this proved his point. My hair would take at least an hour to dry, and it would be messed up even then. I trudged over to the next door and wheeled it open. No water came in, which meant the place wasn't flooded. I silently thanked God and proceeded.

After some time of wandering around dark basements and sliding and slipping thanks to the rocking boat, I noticed that we seemed to be in a part of the boat that hadn't been flooded yet. I also realized that the boat was going to sink soon, and we had better get off it.

"We have to hurry up or we're going to go down with the ship," I said, looking around.

I trudged up a pair of damp stairs and opened a door to find myself in a strange area of the ship. Michael and Sabrina followed, and I went down a corridor. I heard the familiar rushing noise of water flowing into the ship and took off in the opposite direction. It was a dead end, and I turned back to be engulfed in a rush of water. Water filled my nostrils and I blew out, trying to get it out. I swam quickly down another hallway. I opened my eyes a little to see where I was going, and saw the hole in the ship ahead of me. I signaled to Michael and Sabrina and pointed to the hole. They nodded, and I swam ahead through. The seawater was a lot colder, and too dark to see through. I instantly started swimming upwards, and noticed how deep underwater I was. I turned back to make sure Michael and Sabrina were still following. It was difficult to tell, but I think they were.

After swimming until my lungs almost burst, I surfaced and started gasping in air. I swallowed as much air as possible and looked around. Nothing was really in sight. I could smell the salt, and it was suffocating me. I coughed several times and felt around for my Pokéballs. I still had all three of them.

"Pikachu?" I asked, feeling around on my back. Pikachu flopped out and sat on my shoulder. I reached out and shoved him back in my backpack. I started slowly swimming to the north. How was I supposed to stay afloat? I had no Water-type Pokémon, and nothing to float on. I looked around again and saw a piece of wood floating on the water. I swam over to it and grasped onto. At the same time, somebody else surfaced and grabbed it. It was Sabrina! Another splash, and Michael surfaced. He swam over and grabbed the wood. I floated there, exhausted. Dang, I was tired! With a heave of a sigh, I fell asleep.

I slowly opened my eyes and then shut them again. I was staring directly at the sun. I rolled on my side and opened my eyes again. I was washed onto a beach, and Sabrina was to my right, Michael to my left. I pushed myself up with my hands slowly, letting the moist, cool sand soak in between my fingers. I slowly stood up and walked tiredly over to Michael. I shook him, and received a kick for it. With an annoyed look on my face, I shoved him again. He slowly started getting up, and I went over to Sabrina. More gently than I did to Michael, I shook her. She got up quickly and glared at me with those blazing purple eyes. I gave her a funny look, and her eyes stopped glowing. Just as quickly as she had woken up, she sank to her knees and collapsed on the sand at my feet.

"Well, she seems like a morning person!" I exclaimed with a laugh. Michael laughed, and the two of us sat down by her collapsed form. I pulled my shoes off and dumped the water and sand out of them. Michael did the same, and I brushed off the rest of the sand. I was still rather wet, and so was Michael. I reached up to my head and ran a hand through my hair. It was sandy and tangled. I went over to the water and dumped my head underwater. I ran my hands through my hair again, pulling out the tangles and sand. Pulling back up for air, I gasped and went back under. I repeated this process several times until my hair was halfway decent. Man, I needed a hat.

►To Be Continued…


	8. Episode 8

Episode 8: Island Fever

The three of us walked around the island wearily as a group. The sun was beating down on my shoulders, and I was sure that I would have a sunburn the size of the sun when I got back to civilization—if I did.

"Guys, let's head towards the center of the island now. I think it'll be cooler there," I suggested, panting.

"Fine…" Michael heaved.

Sabrina's eyes slightly glowed. I figured she agreed, but her eyes glowed dimly because she was tired. The three of us started slowly trudging through the scorching sand towards the center of the island. I was already panting, but I could see the trees getting closer. After a few more moments of walking, we were there. I plopped down under a coconut tree, panting.

"What on earth are we supposed to do!" I exclaimed between gasps of air. Michael and Sabrina looked at me with fatigue. I shrugged in defeat. I heard some kind of noise in the distance. I turned to see Team Rocket trudging through the sand dunes towards us.

"Uh, guys, we got company…" I trailed off, getting up.

Team Rocket started to pick up the pace, and before I knew it, we were being chased. I noticed that ahead of us, the sand thinned out and became grass. Team Rocket was moving quickly, and the three of us were not running as quickly as they were. I started trying to run faster, but I was already out of breath.

"We have to stop and face them!" I hollered to Michael and Sabrina. Sabrina nodded, and Michael rolled his eyes. I stopped and turned around. I grabbed my Pokéball with Nidoking in it and pulled it off my belt, throwing it. "Nidoking, go!"

Team Rocket came up to us and stopped.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!"

"Oh will you _please_ shut up!" I exclaimed.

"How dare you interrupt the Team Rocket motto!" Jesse exclaimed. "Ekans, go!"

Ekans popped out of its Pokéball and let out a hiss.

"Nidoking, Thrash it!" I commanded.

"Ekans, Wrap!" Jesse hollered. Nidoking was faster, so he got the first move. Wrap lasted for 5 turns, and then Nidoking used Thrash again. Ekans used Leer. Nidoking used Thrash, and it knocked out Ekans. Jesse scowled at me and turned to James.

"Idiot, send out Koffing!" she hollered.

"Fine! Koffing, go!" James exclaimed, throwing a Pokéball at my Nidoking. Nidoking was confused, and he hit himself.

"Nidoking, you moron! What do you think you're doing!" I roared, stomping my foot into the soft grass.

James laughed. "Koffing, go for a Tackle!" Tackle barely hurt my Nidoking, and I struck back with a Horn Attack. This time it actually hit. "Koffing, Tackle it again!"

"Nidoking! Thrash attack!" Nidoking wasn't confused anymore, and he got in a good hit. I was surprised.

"Oh, blast it!" James yelled. "Koffing, Tackle!"

"Thrash!" Koffing was down and out.

"James… what the heck are you doing!" Jesse roared, shaking James by his shirt collar and occasionally smacking his face. I grinned.

"Looks like we win!" I declared placing my hands on my hips.

"Not so fast, brats!" Jesse said, glaring at us.

"Whom are you calling a brat?" Michael roared, standing forward.

James smirked. "Ooh… Is Mikey the fat brat gonna' beat us up?" he taunted, wiggling his index finger. Well, he was officially dead. No, I mean _dead_. Michael turned about four different shades of flaming red and orange, and then he punted Jesse, James, and Meowth straight into the stratosphere. Afterwards, he was huffing and puffing with a swarm of blue energy blazing around him.

"Well, I think you showed them," I exclaimed, clasping my hands together and grinning.

"Shut up!" Michael roared, shoving me out of the way. Sabrina scowled. I laughed under my breath. Michael stormed off and we followed.

About 30 minutes later, Michael had calmed down, and we were starting to notice that the land was curving off to the left, which was east, because we were facing south, and then taking a turn towards the north. We continued following, and found ourselves taken to a forest.

"Great. I am not in the mood for wild forest Pokémon," I finalized, tossing my hands up in the air.

We headed into the forest slowly, trying to avoid battles at all costs.

"Maybe if we run we'll be able to avoid the wild Pokémon better," Sabrina suggested.

"Yeah, that makes sense," I said, nodding. "Let's run."

We took off running. The forest seemed to get thicker and thicker the farther we got into it. Dang, was this ever going to end? I finally slowed down to catch my breath. This was going to be impossible. I wouldn't be able to avoid a battle. I looked around quickly, trying to see if there were any wild Pokémon around. Nothing. That was strange… there wasn't a single other creature or Pokémon around. Nothing at all. Wait a minute? There was a strange noise, like a cat meowing. What the heck? Was it Meowth?

"Do you two hear that?" I asked, looking around.

"You mean that cat?" Michael asked.

I looked at Sabrina. She looked very disgruntled.

"Sabrina, are you okay?" I asked, rather confused. She held up a hand, and her eyes were glowing purple. Michael looked confused too. "What's the matter?" She still didn't respond. Suddenly, she took off running. Michael and I quickly followed. She took a left, and the noise got louder.

"Myuu… mew…" came the noise. I quickened my pace. Was it some sort of strange Pokémon! Sabrina suddenly stopped, and Michael and I almost slipped in the pine needle trying to stop running. She quickly walked up towards some thick branches and trees. She pulled them apart and peered through. I ran up behind her and looked over her shoulder. Quickly, something small and white flew out from some trees and took off across the water. It dashed down and disappeared into something across the water. It almost looked like a truck.

"What the heck…?" I exclaimed, trailing off.

"Weird…" Michael remarked. Sabrina's eyes were glowing an intense and furious purple. They were almost blazing. I withdrew my head from the branches and stood there for a moment, in a daze. What on Earth was that? I took a few steps back and bumped into a tree.

"Ouch!" I cried, rubbing my head. Michael and Sabrina looked at me. "We should probably be going again."

Michael and Sabrina nodded, so we started walking through the woods again. A few moments later, I saw someone standing by a tree. He was talking to his Pokémon.

"Here, Eevee, drink this," the person said, bending down. It was Timothy!

"Timothy!" I hollered, running up to him. He turned around and glared at me.

"Zachi!" he exclaimed, placing his hands on his hips and trying to look pumped up. I smirked.

"What are _you _doing here!" I exclaimed.

"Looking for a legendary Pokémon, of course," he retorted.

"As if you could catch one!"

"I want to see if your team has gotten better… I challenge you!" he declared, pulling a Pokéball off his belt. "My powerful Pokémon will beat you to dust!"

I grinned and pulled off one of my Pokéballs.

"Pidgeotto, go!"

"Kadabra, go!"

His Kadabra would be faster normally, so I decided to use Quick Attack. Here is an update of my team's status:

Nidoking L. 23

Poison Sting

Thrash

Horn Attack

Double Kick

Pidgeotto L. 20

Gust

Sand Attack

Quick Attack

Whirlwind

Pikachu L. 20

Thundershock

Thunder Wave

Slam

Quick Attack

Paras L. 20

Scratch

Stun Spore

Leech Life

Kadabra wasn't pleased with the hit, but it didn't do a whole lot. Afterwards, Kadabra used Confusion. Pidgeotto flew back from the force of the hit, but it didn't do a whole lot. Pidgeotto used Quick Attack again. Kadabra counter-struck with another Confusion. Pidgeotto was almost K.O.'d, and I hadn't done much to Kadabra yet. In fear of losing one of my Pokémon, I switched to Paras.

"Kadabra, Confusion!" Timothy yelled, pointing at Paras.

"Paras, Leech Life!" I hollered.

Kadabra was of course faster, and Confusion did more than I expected (probably because Paras has low Special). Leech Life brought Kadabra almost to the point of a K.O. Confusion again from Kadabra brought me close to a K.O. also. I finished it up with another Leech Life, and Kadabra was knocked out. He grinned.

"Good job, Paras!" I cheered. Timothy glared icy daggers at me.

"Magikarp go! Show me what you've learned!" Timothy exclaimed, throwing a Pokéball. It popped open to reveal a strong-looking Magikarp.

"Haha! Is that your idea of a good Pokémon!" I laughed and retreated Paras. "Pikachu, K.O. him quickly. I don't have time to waste." Pikachu turned to me and nodded.

"You're still using that lousy excuse for a Pokémon! Hahahahah!" Timothy was just about on the ground laughing. I scowled at him.

"Pikachu, Thundershock!" I commanded. Pikachu started charging some electricity. In a few moments, jagged bolts of lightening swarmed around Magikarp. They shot electricity at him and created a small globe of electrical energy. A small ringing/cringing noise rang out. Magikarp flew back a few feet.

"Magikarp, don't take it! Tackle!" Timothy announced. Magikarp flopped around for a few moments, and then he leaped at Pikachu. Tackle barely hurt Pikachu. I grinned and laughed. I used another Thundershock. He used Tackle again. Same amount of damage. I used one more Thundershock, and Magikarp was out.

"Electric-type? Let's see if you like this! Sandslash, go!" He threw a Pokéball. Sandslash popped out.

"Pikachu, come back! Paras, go!" Paras popped out. "Paras, Stun Spore!"

"Sandslash, Slash!" Sandslash was of course faster, and it almost knocked out Paras. He had a few HP left. Stun Spore worked, and Sandslash was now paralyzed. I figured I would have to let Sandslash K.O. Paras, so I used Leech Life. I got back and few HP, but not enough to keep me going.

"Paras, good job. Pidgeotto, go!" I used Quick Attack, and he used Slash. I had about 2 HP left. I used Quick Attack again. One more Slash, and Pidgeotto was down. "Pidgeotto, nice try! Pikachu, go!"

Pikachu popped out. "Pikachu, Slam!" Pikachu charged at Sandslash, but he missed. "Pikachu! What the heck are you doing?"

"You only have 3 Pokémon! Hahahah! Looks like I win!" Timothy cackled.

"Loser…" I muttered under my breath.

"Sandslash, give it a good Slash!" Pikachu was bleeding a little, and he was almost knocked out.

"Pikachu! Give it your best shot! Slam!" Pikachu confirmed with nothing more than a little "chu!" and started brushing his feet in the dirt, like a bull. He started running towards Sandslash and started going so fast I saw a bolt of lightning spark. He slammed directly into Sandslash's gut, and the shrew-like Pokémon flew back and smashed into a tree. He was out cold.

"Urgh!" Timothy yelled, recalling his fallen Pokémon. I smirked and grinned. "Eevee, make me proud!"

"Pikachu, return! Nidoking, go!" I could see the surprise in Timothy's eyes as Nidoking popped out. I beamed proudly. After a few moments of gawking, Timothy smirked and lowered his head.

"Eevee! Quick Attack!"

"Nidoking, Thrash!" Eevee dashed at Nidoking, inflicting damage. Nidoking turned and bashed Eevee with his tail, sending him flying into a nearby tree.

"Eevee! Take advantage of the dirt below you! Sand-Attack!" Eevee started kicking up hordes of sand at Nidoking's eyes. Nidoking ran after Eevee and lunged, continuing his Thrash. But he missed, and Eevee retaliated with another Quick Attack. Nidoking turned and connected a blow into the side of Eevee. Now he was done thrashing, but he was confused. Eevee was low on health, but Nidoking was confused and couldn't see well. The odds were against me 2 to 1. I decided my best bet would be to switch in Pikachu and then switch back out. That way Nidoking would have time to regain his senses and clear the sand from his eyes.

"Nidoking, return! Pikachu, go!"

"Hahaahahah! You expect to beat Eevee with _that _thing!" Timothy was still laughing and could barely get out the command to use Quick Attack. Pikachu had little strength left.

"Pikachu, return! Come back out, Nidoking!" Timothy abruptly stopped laughing when he realized my plan. He glared at me fiercely. "Nidoking, Thrash!"

"Eevee, Quick Attack!" I received some damage. Thrash almost knocked out Eevee.

"Thrash!"

"Quick Attack!"

Nidoking was beginning to falter, but Eevee had fainted! I won! I roared in laughter and returned Nidoking to his Pokéball.

"Hmm! You won this time, but next time Magikarp will eliminate you! Smell 'ya later!"

He took off. We continued walking through the forest, and a few moments later, we came to a fence. I jumped over it, and Michael and Sabrina followed suit. It turned out we were right outside of Vermilion, close to the harbor. I didn't bother trying to figure out how we got back, but instead ran straight to the Pokémon Center. I ran in and healed my Pokémon.

"Hah! I showed him!" I exclaimed proudly.

Michael and Sabrina sweat-dropped largely and shook their heads.

►To Be Continued…


	9. Episode 9

Episode 9: Zap! The Lightning Battle!

"Well, I think I'm ready for Lt. Surge!" I announced. Michael, Sabrina, and I were all in Michael's living room. It was the day after we had gotten back from the island and the forest. I had trained all day for the rest of that day, and here is an update of my team:

Nidoking L. 26

Thrash

Horn Attack

Poison Sting

Double Kick

Pikachu L. 23

Slam

Thundershock

Thunder Wave

Quick Attack

Pidgeotto L. 24

Gust

Quick Attack

Sand Attack

Whirlwind

Parasect L. 24

Scratch

Stun Spore

Leech Life

Cut

They both face-faulted, and I gave them dirty looks.

"Think you're ready so soon?" my aunt asked, coming to sit down in the recliner.

"I'm positive!" I exclaimed.

Michael rolled his eyes and got up.

"Where're you going, Michael?" I asked him.

"To train, of course…" he said, barely turning to look at me.

"Oh, that's right… You don't have a Thunder Badge yet, do you?"

"So what if I don't!"

I snickered and he stomped on out of the house. I reclined on the couch, stretching and then lying back.

"Aren't you going to go beat Lt. Surge?" Sabrina asked me quietly and calmly.

"Later, of course! I need to kick back and relax first!" I exclaimed. She gave me a look, and I just rolled my eyes and looked away. I sat there for about 17½ minutes, and then stood up.

"Well! I'm ready to go!" I announced, trouncing out of the house proudly. I walked out into the morning sun and sniffed the salty air deeply. I ran off towards the Vermilion City gym. A bush was blocking the entrance, so I had Parasect cut it down. I walked towards the gym door and opened it. I stepped inside the yellow building and looked around. There were three trainers standing around. Other than the trainers, there was hardly anything else around except for some doors and a lot of trashcans. Very odd. I walked up to one of the trainers.

"If you beat me, I'll tell you the secret of the gym!" he said, pulling out a Pokéball.

"You're on!" I exclaimed, pulling out one of my Pokéballs.

"Magnemite, go!"

"Parasect, go!"

"Thunder Wave!"

"Stun Spore!"

Now that we were both paralyzed, I figured I had better start attacking with my best move.

"Supersonic!" the trainer yelled. His Magnemite used Supersonic, but it failed.

"Cut!" Parasect reared back and raked his claw across Magnemite, cutting him.

"Thundershock!" It wasn't very effective…

"Cut!"

"Supersonic!" Parasect became confused!

"Cut!" In its confusion, Parasect attacked himself. "Parasect, you moron!"

"Hahaha! Now that you're confused, I believe I will claim my victory!" the trainer stated proudly.

I grimaced. What was he going to do!

"Thundershock!"

I almost face-faulted for being so stupid. What was I thinking, that he could beat me?

"Parasect, focus on your enemy! Cut!" This time, Parasect actually hit the Magnemite. I grinned.

"Thundershock!" But, Magnemite became fully paralyzed.

"Cut!" Another gash across Magnemite! Yes!

"Tackle!" So, he was deciding to change his move.

"Cut!" One more hit and he was gonna' be K.O.'d.

"Tackle!" Darn it! Parasect was almost knocked out!

"Cut!" But, Parasect was fully paralyzed.

"Tackle!" I grimaced and hoped he would be paralyzed. Magnemite started to move towards Parasect. Well, I figured Parasect would be K.O.'d, so I started to get out my Pokéball. Before Magnemite made contact, Parasect quickly stepped out of the way. Magnemite missed!

"Parasect! Cut!" I hollered. Parasect reared back and cut Magnemite once more. Magnemite's eyes swirled and he fell down, knocked out. "Yes! You did it, Parasect!" I exclaimed, running over and hugging Parasect. He gave a friendly cry of glee.

"You think I'm done!" the trainer exclaimed, getting out another Pokéball.

"Bring it on!" I exclaimed, grabbing Nidoking's Pokéball.

"Voltorb, go!" he commanded, tossing his Pokéball.

"Nidoking, go!" I said, throwing my Pokéball.

"Voltorb, Tackle!"

"Nidoking, Thrash!"

The battle lasted a little longer, and I won.

Crossing his arms, he exclaimed, "Fine! I'll tell you."

"What is it!" I blared.

"Beneath two of these trashcans there is a button. If you find both of them consecutively, than the doors guarding Lt. Surge will open. If you get one and then miss the next, than the switches will move places. Do you think you have what it takes?"

"Hm! You'll see!" I retorted. I walked away and started looking under the trashcans. Finally, I found the first switch. Now where would the second switch be? I started to look up after setting down the trashcan with a switch under it when I found myself staring a trainer in the face.

"If you beat me, than I will tell you a secret!" he said.

"You're on!" I replied, accepting the challenge.

We both pulled out a Pokéball.

"Nidoking, go!"

"Pikachu, go!"

The battle lasted a few minutes, and I won!

"So, about that secret?" I asked the trainer.

"The second switch is under a trashcan adjacent from the first one, but it could be in any direction, so you will have to guess," he said. I pursed my lips. I looked at the trashcan that had the first switch under it. Where could the second switch be? Hoping Jesus would bless me, I grabbed one of the

trashcans. The switch was there! I reached down and pressed it. A tone sounded and two doors opened at the front of the gym. Yes! Hahaha! I ran outside, Cut down the tree, and went to heal my Pokémon. I came back to the gym and went up to Lt. Surge.

"Ha! You dare challenge me! Back when I was in the military, my super-strong electric Pokémon could help me out of any bond! You don't stand a chance!" he exclaimed.

"Bring it on, Surge!" I challenged, grabbing a Pokéball.

"Raichu, go!"

"Nidoking, go!" We both threw our Pokéballs on the floor.

"Raichu, Body Slam!"

"Nidoking, Thrash!"

Body Slam didn't paralyze to my fortune, and Thrash did a little damage. The battle wouldn't be incredibly difficult because Surge only had 1 Pokémon, a level 28 Raichu. Fortunately, Nidoking was level

26, so that wouldn't be a problem. Body Slam again, then Thrash. This happened 2 more times and then

Nidoking became confused. Raichu used Body Slam again. I commanded Nidoking to use Thrash, but he hit himself in his confusion. Nidoking was almost knocked out. I recalled him and sent out Parasect. I instantly had Parasect use Stun Spore. Raichu was faster and used Body Slam. It paralyzed Parasect, but Stun Spore also worked. Thus meaning both our Pokémon were paralyzed. Body Slam, then Cut. Body Slam, then Cut. Raichu was almost knocked out, but Parasect was close also. I figured he could make it, so I commanded him to use Cut. Raichu used Body Slam as usual. Parasect almost fainted but hung in there for a finalizing Cut. Raichu fainted.

"Yes! I won!" I shouted, raising fists in the air.

"Yeah, heh, whatever kid…" Surge mumbled. "You won fair and square. Here's the Thunder Badge, and the TM for Thunderbolt."

"Heh, cool. Looks like I am one step closer to the Elite Four, right guys?" I asked my Pokémon. They all made noises in agreement.I marched proudly out of the gym and had Parasect Cut down the bush. I went back to the Pokémon Center, had my Pokémon healed, and went back to Aunt Terry's house. I walked in to see things serene as usual. Michael was relaxing, watching TV, while Sabrina was drinking tea with Aunt Terry. "Hey guys, I got the Thunder Badge!" I proclaimed, revealing my badges inside my vest. Sabrina didn't even acknowledge it and Michael momentarily turned away from the TV to give me a nod. I blinked a few times. "Ok… see if I congratulate you guys next time you win a badge…" I trailed off. Still no response. Whatever. I sighed and plopped on the couch. Michael was watching a horror movie on the science fiction channel. Cool. Just as I leaned back and started getting into the movie, Michael promptly turned off the TV and got up.

"Well, time to go whoop up Lt. Surge," he said, running out of the house.

"Don't run in the house, Michael," Aunt Terry calmly noted after Michael already slammed the door. I sweat-dropped and sat back on the couch. I turned the TV back on and continued watching the movie. About 30 minutes later, Michael returned. He slammed the door behind himself, walked into the kitchen proudly, placed his hands on his hips, and announced, "Hey guys! I got the Thunder Badge!" He opened his small wallet of badges so we could all see. Aunt Terry and Sabrina instantly got up and started congratulating him, patting him on the back and saying things like "Good job, Michael" and "Great!". I watched in shock with my left eye twitching. I then proceeded to face-fault onto the floor, with my feet up and twitching. I saw Aunt Terry, Sabrina, and Michael look at me with wonder, completely clueless as to what had happened. Ugh. I guess some things never change. After recovering from my face-fault, Michael came and plopped on the other couch, grabbed the remote, looked at what was on TV, and instantly remarked, "What is this garbage! Let's find something better to watch!" He then started flipping through channels rapidly. I gave him a look and trudged outside to go train. Michael, Michael…

►To Be Continued…


	10. Episode 10

Episode 10: On the Road to Celadon City

I did plenty of training, and my team is getting even better. Here's the scoop:

Nidoking L. 30

Thrash

Horn Attack

Thunderbolt

Double Kick

Pikachu L. 28

Slam

Thundershock

Thunder Wave

Swift

Pidgeotto L. 29

Gust

Quick Attack

Sand Attack

Whirlwind

Parasect L. 28

Scratch

Stun Spore

Leech Life

Cut

Weepinbell L.21

Vine Whip

Wrap

Poison Powder

Sleep Powder

I bet you're wondering where the Weepinbell came from, hmm? While I was training in the grass outside Vermilion City, I decided I should probably capture a Bellsprout before too long. So I headed north. An hour later, I had arrived in Cerulean City. I quickly headed up Route 24 and arrived at a grassy region in about 15 minutes. I hunted around and was almost instantly attacked by a wild Bellsprout. Pikachu's Thundershock didn't knock it out, so I captured it with a Pokéball. Then I started training. That's how I got my Weepinbell. All of that took place several hours ago. It's about 5 o'clock now. Michael, Sabrina, and I are all headed for Diglett's Cave. I plan on going back to Route 2 to get Flash, the fifth hidden machine, from one of Prof. Oak's assistants. Once we get back, we planned on spending one more night at Michael's place and then go on from there.

"So, do either of you two have a Diglett?" I asked, looking at Michael and Sabrina.

"No, I never got around to catchin' one… I suppose I should while we're in here, though," Michael replied with a shrug.

"No," Sabrina said.

I had read up on Diglett's cave before, and knew it wouldn't be long before we got attacked by Digletts. The thought of catching a new Pokémon always sounds like fun to me, but I hate caves. I trudged along across the sand grit of the cave, keeping in stride with Michael and Sabrina. The next moment, a Diglett attacked.

"He's mine!" I announced, grabbing Weepinbell's Pokéball. "Weepinbell, go!" I threw the ball and Weepinbell popped out with a burst of light. "Weepinbell, Sleep Powder!" Weepinbell spun around and shook out Sleep Powder, but it didn't affect Diglett. The wild Diglett used Dig. Great. I figured I might as well waste a PP for Poison Powder. Of course, it didn't affect the submerged Diglett. The Diglett came up from the ground and hit for a normal amount of damage. I commanded Weepinbell to use Sleep Powder again, but this time it actually worked! With Diglett asleep, I began using Wrap. We traded blows for a little bit, and I finally managed to sufficiently weaken the Diglett. However, Weepinbell was still using Wrap. The Diglett used Scratch, and Weepinbell used Wrap and accidentally K.O.'d the Diglett.

"Darn! I didn't capture it!" I exclaimed, swiping my fist.

Michael laughed. I gave him a look and recalled Weepinbell without a word. We resumed marching through the cave. After a few more moments, we arrived on Route 2.

"Let's head south, everybody. There's a house in the distance," I said, pointing to the housetop.

"Ok," Michael said, following. Sabrina followed without a word. We walked into the house and inside there was a scientist sitting in a chair and a kid in the back playing a Gameboy. As a Pokémon trainer, I naturally walked up to the kid in the back first.

"I'm looking for Abra! Wanna' trade one for Mr. Mime?" he said enthusiastically.

I looked at him for a second and thought.

"Um… I don't have an Abra," I said.

"Awww! Oh well…" he replied with much disappointment. I resisted giving him a strange look. Why did he want an Abra so badly, of all Pokémon? I supposed that it didn't matter. I went up to the scientist dude.

"A fainted Pokémon can't fight, but it can still use moves like Cut!" he said, and with that, he turned back to staring at the wall. I blinked for a few seconds, wondering what his problem was. I shrugged it off. No wonder no one ever came to Route 2. The three of us left and proceeded south. We came to a small tree and Parasect Cut it down. In front of us was a large building. We walked in and there were two people in it: some random dude and one of Prof. Oak's assistants. Bingo! I ran over to him.

"Can I have the Flash HM?" I demanded quickly.

"If you have caught ten Pokémon, you can have it," he said.

"Well look all ready!" I said, thrusting my Pokédex at him. He looked through it quickly.

"All right then! Here's HM 05!" he said, handing me the HM.

"Thanks a ton!" I said quickly. Right before I ran off, I got that feeling. Something was telling me to head further south. Because this sense had proven itself before, I figured I should go ahead and head south some more. So I did. I left and Michael and Sabrina trudged on behind me. We jumped a ledge and there was an item on the ground. Michael ran over to it quickly and grabbed it.

"Cool! An HP Up!" he announced, looking at it. He quickly administered it to one of his Pokémon. I sweat-dropped and ran farther south. I jumped another ledge and found something far better. It was another one of those Moon Stones! I remembered finding one in Mt. Moon, and now I had another one. It was cool, but I had no idea what it was for. Oh well.

"I got a Moon Stone, Michael!" I said, waving it in his face. He gave me a look similar to the one I had given him when he laughed at me for knocking out Diglett. I stuffed the Moon Stone in my backpack. We all headed back to Vermilion City and went back to Michael's house. We then proceeded to stay there for the night.

The next morning I woke up slowly. I showered and went downstairs.

"Yo people, good morning…" I said to Michael, Sabrina, and Aunt Terry. We sat down and ate breakfast. Boy, that was probably the one thing I enjoyed at Michael's house the most. Aunt Terry made the best breakfast in the world. There was always a stack of pancakes in the center of the table, accompanied by an assortment of fruits or nuts and plenty of syrups. She gave us pulp-free orange juice (the best kind) and milk and finished it off with bacon and eggs—any style you wanted. Dang. That was a really good breakfast. But anyway, after breakfast we packed up our stuff and headed out. Michael and his mom exchanged their somewhat brief good-byes (which Michael spent mostly blushing as his mom said random embarrassing things), and we were off. We headed directly north to cross the underground passage back to Cerulean City. From Cerulean City, we headed north and around east to get to Route 9. If there was one thing I knew about Route 9, it was that it led to Route 10. Now Route 10 in itself was not so scary (in fact it was rather pointless because it was so small), but instead the fact that Rock Tunnel was in the middle of the two Routes made all the difference. The Pokémon of Rock Tunnel aren't particularly strong or rare or difficult, but the main problem with it is that it's pitch-black. That's right; you can't see anything in it. But that's where my genius came in- I had Flash. Heh. The only other thing was a matter of deciding to whom I would to teach the move. I quickly decided it would be Pikachu and gave him the HM. I deleted Thunder Wave for it, but that was okay because he wouldn't be using that move in Rock Tunnel too much anyway. I headed towards the first female Junior trainer and initiated battle. We fought briefly, and I completely sacked her Pokémon. I jumped down the next ledge and grabbed a TM 30, which was randomly lying on the ground. I fought a Hiker, followed by two male Junior trainers, a Youngster, another Hiker, and one last female Junior trainer. Of course, I had to heal some between battles, but it was pretty easy. Anyway, I made my way to the Pokémon Center in front of the Rock Tunnel and healed my Pokémon. I knew it was time for the Rock Tunnel. I turned to Michael and Sabrina, who had fought the rest of the trainers on the route. Michael said, "What?" and Sabrina continued staring off into space. I shrugged and figured they were ready to go. As soon as I rounded the small bush to make my way into Rock Tunnel I was stopped by no one other than an annoying Jr. Trainer. It wasn't so much that it was going to be a difficult fight as it was that this meant I had to go heal again before I could continue into Rock Tunnel. I fought with the Jr. Trainer but upon turning to return to the Pokémon Center I noticed that Michael and Sabrina were nowhere to be found. I hollered for them but got no response. Shrugging, I ran into Rock Tunnel and instantly was bombarded by the unbroken blackness. All I could see was small reflections of light off the walls. Other than that, it was black. I laughed and commanded Pikachu to use Flash. He did so and suddenly it was light again. I audibly thanked God and headed left, where I saw an opening in the rock walls. I got stopped by a trainer and fought. I continued progressing through Rock Tunnel, hollering for Sabrina and Michael the whole time. I climbed down a ladder and entered the basement floor of Rock Tunnel. Still no sign of them. I furrowed my brow. I was almost getting worried, but I reminded myself that this was just how Michael acted. The only problem with my logic was that this did _not_ seem like typical Sabrina behavior. More trainers stopped me here and there, but I still could not manage to find Michael or Sabrina. I climbed up another ladder and reemerged into the top floor of Rock Tunnel. I fought another Hiker and turned left. I hugged against a wall because I saw a Pokémaniac standing against another wall. I did my best to slide around the corner, but I thought he saw me anyway. I turned and suddenly a person appeared in my face and shouted, "Boo!" I jumped back and quickly realized it was Michael. I sweat-dropped and shoved him.

"You jerk! You scared the crap out of me!" I said. He continued laughing at my fright. I rolled my eyes. "And where the heck is Sabrina?" I demanded.

He looked at me and said, "What? You can't see her?" I gave him a strange look and he pointed at the wall in front of me. I gave him a double-shot, and he shrugged and raised his eyebrows innocently. I furrowed my brow and looked harder again. I couldn't see anything. After carefully studying the wall, I thought I saw the outline of a person, but it felt like my eyes were just playing tricks on me. Suddenly out of the wall Sabrina stepped into plain sight. I quickly gave her a double-shot too and blinked rapidly.

"No way. You were not standing there," I said, shaking my head. Of course, she didn't respond, but instead her eyes glowed a little bit purple. I hated it when she did that. It kind of creeped me out but made me feel weird…in a strange, almost good way at the same time. I gave Sabrina a weird look and shoved my hands in my pockets quickly. I cleared my throat vocally and said, "Well, um, let's go." I proceeded forward but was instantly stopped by the Pokémaniac I had forgotten to try and avoid in all the confusion with Michael and Sabrina. I had to fight his Slowpoke. Fortunately Weepinbell's Vine Whip had been doing me well against those Slowpokes, so I won easily. After that battle I climbed back down some stairs to the basement level and continued proceeding through the tunnel. I fought three more battles and was out of the tunnel. The moment I stepped into daylight I stretched my arms out, breathed in deeply, and yelled, "THANK YOU GOD!" Michael laughed at me. I narrowed my eyes at him. Fortunately we were not far from Lavender Town, which meant we weren't far from Celadon City, either. I went left around the rock wall in front of me and headed toward Lavender Town. I narrowly avoided another trainer and jumped a small ledge to enter into Lavender Town. I made a beeline for the Pokémon Center. I healed all my Pokémon and sat down on one of the benches inside the Pokémon Center. Michael collapsed next to me and Sabrina sat on the floor in front of us. Michael instantly sat up and slapped me on the back.

"Zachi, you know men should let women have a seat. It's proper etiquette," Michael said facetiously.

I narrowed my eyes at him and said, "Yeah, Michael, that's why you should get off your lazy butt and let Sabrina have your seat instead…" At that he turned to facing the wall with his arms crossed. I shrugged and sighed with relief. Before I knew what was happening, Sabrina got up and started trying to sit down right between Michael and me. The both of us leapt up, cringing. I then sweat-dropped and realized she knew what she had to do now to get us to give up our seats. I walked out of the Pokémon Center and looked out at Lavender Town. I wondered where Timothy was and if he had gotten any more badges. The place had an eerie mist around it. A light haze—lavender in color, of course—hung around the whole town. The air was stale, and there was nobody outside his/her home. I spaced out for a moment, taking in the strange scenery of the place, and then walked towards the Pokémart. I went inside, the bell dinging behind me as it always did, and walked up to the counter after grabbing some items to buy. I placed the stuff on the counter when a strange-looking item on the shelf behind the counter caught my eye. It was like a Pokéball, but instead of being red and white, it was blue and white!

"What's that item right there?" I asked the cashier, who was pale with beady black eyes, as I pointed at the strange ball.

"That's a Great Ball," he replied flatly.

I resisted giving him a strange look and said, "How much are they?"

"Five-hundred yen."

"Hmm…give me three of them." He grabbed three all in one hand and set them on the counter.

"Your total comes to 3,600 yen." I tossed the money on the counter and scooped up the items, putting them in my backpack.

"Thanks," I said casually and walked out. He didn't say anything to me. I stepped back outside into the eerie air. Something huge caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look. It was Pokémon Tower. My eyes narrowed as I looked it up and down. The foundation of it was rock, and the first floor was built into the rock, but it extended for several stories upward after that. The eerie lavender haze seemed particularly thick the higher towards the top of the tower to the point that I couldn't see the top floor. The door into the first floor seemed ominous—it was made of a dark, unpolished oak and had a massive iron door handle. I nervously pursed my lips and moved them about as I examined it. There was basically nothing else to this place. I wondered why on earth anybody would want to live here, but then I remembered that practically nobody did. Michael and Sabrina came out of a house a ways off and started making their way toward me. I snapped out of thinking about Pokémon Tower and walked towards them.

"Hey Zachi, we just came out of the official Pokémon fan club's Lavender Town headquarters!" Michael announced with enthusiasm.

"Ooo..kaaay…?" I puzzledly asked, groping the air for more.

"All right, you ready to tackle Pokémon Tower?" he asked, nodding towards it.

I grinned excitedly. "I thought you'd never ask," I said, giving a slightly cocky grin. Sabrina followed us towards it without a word. Michael beat me to the door and opened it. The hinges didn't squeak or anything. The inside was lit with halogen bulbs whose glare was kind of blinding compared to the dimness of the natural light outside. The receptionist glumly greeted us with "Welcome to Pokémon Tower," and that was it. I nervously faked a smile and greeting, and Michael gave her a passive wave. Sabrina didn't say or do anything, except I think she looked at the woman. Michael and I looked around the first floor, which was basically empty. There was a woman quietly sobbing against the wall in the corner. I guess they really did bury dead Pokémon here. I couldn't imagine being buried…in a building. That would just be strange to me. The trio of us walked solemnly and a little quaintly up the flight of steps that lead to the second floor.

"Be careful…" the receptionist casually remarked as we walked up to the second floor.

I took the last couple of steps up the stairs and emerged on the second floor. There were tombstones on top of the tile, as odd as it sounds, and I watched as people sobbed over the graves of their lost Pokémon. Talk about being caught up in the past. I took a step forward and saw a strange old lady in a corner meditating. She had Pokéballs around her waist sash and seemed very intense. I wearily stepped forward and stopped once more as a noise swept past me. I suddenly got cold and looked back at Michael and Sabrina, who had both been silent the whole time. Sabrina's eyes were glowing an intensely bright purple. I swallowed harshly. I got the feeling she didn't do that often, plus it made that condemnable funny feeling come back! Adrenaline flared in my chest when she did that…made me feel rather odd. I thought about it for a split second as a cold wind blew by us all (except nobody's hair was blowing in it) and started thinking that she looked really interesting...wait, no…attractive? Hot? I couldn't decide. There was something about the passion in those glowing eyes that just sort of enraptured me.

I quickly broke the very brief trance she had sent me into feeling very strangely, but nevertheless my focus was torn as a black apparition began to appear in front of the three of us.

"What the heck!" Michael exclaimed, reaching for his Pokéballs. He pulled out Nidorino's Pokéball and tossed it on the ground. "Nidorino, go!" Nidorino popped out of the Pokéball with a fierce cry but then saw the apparition and froze, stiff up. It began to tremor and retreated as the black shadow moved in. "Nidorino, use Poison Sting! What's wrong with you?"

I turned to Michael, my fear beginning to build, and grabbed him by the shoulders and looked him in the face. "He's too scared to fight! Let's the get the heck out of here!"

"Nidorino's not 'too scared to fight'," he retorted mockingly. "Nidorino, come on, attack!" Nidorino continued to cower away. I scoffed at Michael's stubbornness and turned on my heel, making a run. The black apparition leaped (if apparitions can do so) and attacked Nidorino, sending him head over heels into the wall. The adrenaline flared in my chest as I feared for my life, but I stopped and frantically motioned towards Michael, who was urging Nidorino to get up and fight.

"Come on! What the crap are you waiting for! Let's go!" I continued to motion frantically. Sabrina casually and slowly turned around and exited towards the stairs. Michael gave a grunt of frustration and recalled Nidorino, running to join Sabrina and me. "Now come on, let's go!" I said, shoving him along the stairs and running quickly.

"I'm going to get that stupid ghost! Just you watch Zachi; he's going to be _dead_!" Michael growled, shoving the door of Pokémon Tower open as we stepped back into the eerie mist of Lavender Town.

Heaving a sigh of exhaustion and relief, I commented, "He's a ghost; he's all ready dead…"

"Maybe you should heal Nidorino at the Pokémon Center, Michael. He's paralyzed."

Michael and I both looked at Sabrina slightly strangely. It was the first time she had actually spoken in a while.

"Uh… all right. I guess that would be a good idea…" Michael stammered out, a little dumbfounded at her perceptiveness. I figured it came natural for a psychic to know that. The three of us walked to the Pokémon Center, and Michael gave the nurse his Pokéballs for healing.

"Well thank God we made it out of there alive!" I said, heaving another sigh, raising my hands, and looking to the ceiling.

"I'll second that," Michael chimed. Sabrina nodded a little. The nurse handed Michael back his Pokéballs, and he placed each one back on his belt. I watched him do so, and it occurred to me that Sabrina had no belt designed for Pokéballs, but her Pokéballs stayed at her waist anyway.

"Sabrina, how do you keep your Pokéballs at your waist?" I asked, pointing at them.

"That's my own little talent," she passively replied. I figured she was referring to psychic powers. I never really figured psychics could tap into their powers constantly. I guess you learn something new everyday. My thoughts drifted back to Pokémon Tower and the situation we had been in just minutes ago. I wondered why Nidorino had just frozen in terror and also if there were any way to circumvent that problem. I figured I'd find a way. In the meantime, it was off to Celadon City for the Rainbow Badge and a fight with Erika, the local authority on Grass-types. Pidgeotto and Parasect were going to be rather useful in that battle.

"Well Zachi? Where do you suppose we go next?" Michael asked, leaning on my shoulder and looking at me.

"Celadon City, of course," I said with a laugh. I shoved him off me and made my way to the door. I paused and turned back to him. "I'll race ya' to the underground passage," I said with a grin.

"You're on!" He devilishly returned the grin. I took off running out the door, and he ran after me. Sabrina followed quietly.

►To Be Continued…


	11. Episode 11

Episode 11: In the Belly of the Beast

Michael and I took turns fighting battles on Route 8 before arriving at the entrance to the underground passage. He finished off the last gambler, and we went in. The inside was oddly cool, and there were four palm trees in the corners. In truth, it was identical to the entrance to the other underground passage, the one from Cerulean City to Vermillion City. I think they were government-owned, but it surprised me that government-owned buildings would be so well-kept. There was one other person inside, a girl who was idly standing around. We approached the stairs down into the tunnel but stopped when she spoke.

"Are you three headed for Celadon City?" she asked friendly.

"Yeah, we're Pokémon trainers, and Erika's next on the list of gym leaders to destroy," Michael spoke up confidently.

"Are you a Pokémon trainer?" I questioned.

"No, I only own a Clefairy. I keep her around for a companion rather than battles," she replied with a grin. "You know, there's a huge department store in Celadon."

"Yeah, I'm going to pick up a leaf stone for my Weepinbell there." I commented. "Michael, you ready to get going?"

"Yeah, let's split," he agreed, and with a turn to the girl, added, "Nice talking to you."

"See you around," she replied with another grin. Sabrina remained silent throughout the whole interaction. We proceeded to the underground passage, which was a very boring walk. The entire passage was carpeted with a mind-numbing, blinding bright green checker-patterned carpet with gaudy blue criss-crosses. It made me sick. There was a random blue patch of carpet at the end of the passage near the exit stairs. All of the underground passages are oddly wide, but strangely nobody is ever in them.

We re-emerged in the other entrance that was located on Route 7. There was a man standing around in the entrance building who casually told us there was a sleeping Pokémon spotted outside Celadon City. We acknowledged him and exited the building. I personally found the information to be the slightest bit random, but appreciated the thought. A patch of tall grass near the elevated entrance to Celadon caught my attention, and I made a beeline for it. Michael followed and grabbed a Pokéball off his belt and started searching through the grass to look for Pokémon, too. Sabrina casually walked around and glanced about through the grass to look for Pokémon along with us. I pushed aside some stalks of grass and saw a yellow Pokémon sleeping on the ground. It was an Abra, just like the one Sabrina had! I pulled out the Pokéball which carried Weepinbell, who was now level 23. I tossed the Pokéball at the ground, and Weepinbell made his semblance. The Abra stirred and looked at Weepinbell hazily.

"Quick Weepinbell, use Sleep Powder!" Weepinbell started to shake off some powder at the Abra, but the sleepy Pokémon quickly disappeared in a flash of light—it had Teleported away. "Darn it!" I exclaimed, recalling Weepinbell. Michael and Sabrina were still busy looking around for other Pokémon. I continued my search and did some training while I was at it. Weepinbell bumped up to level 24. After some more training, my Pokémon were getting worn down, so I went to the Pokémon Center inside Celadon City. Michael and Sabrina had all ready ventured off to do some shopping at the huge department store, so I decide to venture a look around the town. I stepped outside the Pokémon Center and saw an alleyway to the left that led around to the back of the Pokémon Center. I followed it behind the Pokémon Center and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a girl with a couple of people dressed in black. I quickly darted back behind the Pokémon Center into the alleyway and pressed myself against the wall. Cautiously I leaned back over the side of the Center and watched them talking. The girl looked somewhat familiar. I studied her for a few moments before it hit me—she was the girl from the Route 8 underground passage entrance! I didn't recognize the guys in black at first either, but when I saw the red _R_ on one of their shirts, it was a dead giveaway. They were Team Rocket grunts. What was that girl doing with Team Rocket? They continued to talk quietly, but one of the Rocket members apparently saw me out of the corner of his eye. The group all turned and faced me.

"Hey kid! What do you think you're doing here?" One of the Rocket members shouted at me. The girl from Route 8 gasped, turned around, and jumped up, grabbing the side of the roof of one of the buildings beside the Pokémon Center. She scampered up to the roof and took off running out of sight. The Rocket members collectively yelled "Get him!" and came running after me. I took off running past them, not back towards the city, but further into the alley. They were apparently slow runners, but one of them chunked a Pokéball at my head.

"Ouch!" I cried with surprise, covering my head where I'd been hit. Out of the Pokéball popped a Koffing, who began pumping out gas so quickly, that, in a matter of moments, I couldn't see anymore. I began coughing and ran through the cloud of gas, ducking through the outlines of some trees and continuing to run. I think the Rocket members had stopped chasing after me at this point. I guess they figured they had scared me enough to keep me from coming back. I somehow managed to get out of the thick cloud of gas and saw the back door to a random tall building standing slightly ajar. It led into a strange and narrow room that contained no more than a flight of stairs. I cautiously stepped in, and the metal door shut behind me. I began ascending the stairs, which just led to another flight of stairs. After about five flights of stairs, I finally emerged on a floor with another metal door. I boldly made my way through the door and found a very small office with another one of the metal doors. Beside the door to the office was a plaque that read "I KNOW EVERYTHING!". I went into the office and found a conspicuous, large, yet not corpulent, man standing beside a table that had one Pokéball on it.

"I've been expecting you," he said, walking up to me. I stood there, dumbfounded. "Here, take it, and get out of here quickly before they follow you." He gestured to the Pokéball. I nervously reached over and took it without questioning him. The Pokéball was very polished and clean and felt smooth in my hand. I placed it on my belt with a slight click that seemed to fill the heavy, dead silence. The large man maintained a heavy, silent eye contact with me. Slowly, I backed up a little, and then turned around and bolted out of the office. I hurried down the flights of stairs and re-emerged from the metal door back into the slightly humid Celadon air. I followed the alley cautiously back the way I had come and found no sign of the Team Rocket members. As I made my way back through the clearing of trees I had navigated in the cloud of Koffing's gas, I turned back into the main alley. Some sort of rustling in the trees caught my attention, so I turned around, and then everything went black.

I woke up and found myself gagged and bound to a steel support beam in the alcove of a large, industrial-looking room. I heard distant noises from above and turned to see Michael and Sabrina gagged and bound across the room from me. In front of me were some tables, and to the right were some potted palm trees. On the table lay an HP up. Where was I, I asked myself. A few moments after asking myself that question a man in a black suit with two Rocket members at both his sides walked into the alcove/room and looked at my friends and me. The man in the suit laughed and turned around on the heel of his dress shoe. He was short and had short, fuzzy black hair with a receding hairline that met at a point on his forehead, like a spear. Dirty deeds filled his big, dark eyes, and his crooked grin, big chin, and protruding nose made him look all the meaner. His black dress jacket had a shield-shaped patch on it with a red _R_. He began to frighten me a little—I still had no clue where I was, and here was this insidious fellow grinning rather evilly at me. He walked up to me, hands in jacket pockets, and looked me in the eyes. He narrowed his obsidian eyes at me and grinned a little more.

"Would you like to venture a guess as to where you are?" he said through a thick accent, barely moving more than the left side of his mouth. I stared back nervously, unable to speak due to the gag. His devilish grin became a smirk, and he violently reached up and grabbed me by the jaw. I tried to pull away from the guy but ended up staring down my right cheek at him as he held my tense jaw in his hand. "Little kids have no place meddling in Team Rocket affairs. I heard about your sabotage of my plans in Mt. Moon and Cerulean City." He forcefully turned my head a little to the right, his fingers still savagely clinching my jaw. "I'm a businessman, kid. You understand what it means to be a businessman, right?"

I stared at him menacingly, yet still with fear, out of the corner of my eyes. My face was still turned to the right. He shook me by the jaw and raised his voice, repeating himself. "You understand what it means to be a businessman, right!" I continued to glare at him. My knees were beginning to shake. He released my jaw, flinging my head to the left. My face barely missed hitting the steel support beam. I narrowed my eyes back at his smirk. He turned around on the heel of his shoe again and paced over to the table in the middle of the room. I took the chance to glance at Sabrina and Michael, who were both still either asleep or unconscious. I assumed the latter.

"You're a Pokémon trainer, right?" the man in the suit said, getting my attention once more. I glanced nervously at my friends out of the corner of my eye. "I bet you would like this HP up on the table here, wouldn't you?" he said, picking it up and holding it out for me to see. "Look, I'll make you a deal." He set the HP up back down on the table and reached into his jacket, pulling out an item ball that looked identical to the one containing the HP up. "Here are two item balls—one is the HP up you want, and the other contains...a nice little surprise for you and your friends, heh. I'll shuffle them up," he said, his words slipping out like a venomous snake. He reached down and swapped the two item balls back and forth with his fingers, saying, "and if you guess the correct item ball, you can walk out of here with a free HP up and no harm done. Guess the wrong one, and you and your friends get to meet the great Pokémon Maker in the sky." He continued to shuffle the two item balls on the table and turned around to face me once more. "I know you're a smart kid. You can figure it out. There's a catch, though. All businessman deal with catches. It's a part of life. See this timer?" He pulled a digital timer out of his jacket, which was apparently an infinite source of tools, and placed it on the table beside the two item balls. He reached down and set it to 15 minutes. "In 15 minutes, my special present goes off, whether you've picked the HP up or not. If you try and walk out of this room without the HP up, the present goes off anyway." He began shuffling the item balls again and paused. "Good luck, kid," he turned around and said with a smirk. He nodded to someone who was out of my view. I turned just in time to see a Rocket member deliver another knock out blow to my head. All was black once more.

I woke up with a rancorous headache and looked up through double vision to see the timer ticking down to three minutes left. I attempted to step towards the two item balls as everything started to come back to me but found myself bound to the steel support beam still. There was no sign of any Team Rocket members or the man in the black suit, whom I assumed to be their leader, but I had no way of getting out of my bondage. I looked down at my belt, which still held my five Pokémon, yet there was a sixth Pokéball there. I suddenly remembered the sixth Pokéball I had gained from the mysterious guy in the tall building. I looked down and turned what I could of my body towards the support beam, attempting to brush against it to knock off Parasect's Pokéball. I shimmied and swung and finally managed to knock Parasect's ball off my belt.

"Parasect, Cut these ropes off my wrists and legs!" I mumbled through the gag. Parasect gave a grunt of compliance and slashed the ropes, which fell to the ground. I removed the gag and quickly walked over to Michael and Sabrina, noticing the clock said 2 minutes and 30 seconds left. I began shaking Michael. "Wake up, Michael! Wake up!" Finally he came to, very groggy and confused.

"Where am I…?" he mumbled.

"Never mind that. Just help me wake up Sabrina." Parasect slashed the ropes off of Michael, and Michael took the gag out of his mouth, tossing it on the ground. The Team Rocket leader hadn't realized that I had an advantage over him—Sabrina was psychic and therefore could easily detect the difference between the HP up and the trap. I woke up Sabrina, who quietly opened her eyes, which were burning a bright violet. Parasect slashed the ropes off her, and her Pokéball containing Abra dropped to the floor. Abra popped out and woke up. He floated up and removed Sabrina's gag.

"I can't use my psychic powers. There's something blocking the telepathic waves," she stated quietly.

"What!" I burst out of frustration. "No, that can't be! We have to have your help right now! Do you realize what's going on here?"

"Obviously not dude, she just said she can't use her powers. Give us a break, will ya'?" Michael chimed in, still sounding groggy. I looked at him and rolled my eyes.

"Look, Sabrina, the Team Rocket leader set up a trap that will go off in less than two minutes. We have to pick which of those two item balls is an HP up and walk out of here with it, or else we're toast! Are you sure you can't do anything?"

She solemnly shook her head and closed her eyes. The violet glowed through her closed eyelids. I slammed my fist against the wall in frustration and swallowed the growing lump in my throat. I hurriedly walked over to the table and glared at the item balls, running my fingers through my hair maniacally. After a few seconds of switching my gaze between the two, I shouted in frustration, throwing my hands in the air. "Gah! I give up!" I slammed my fists down onto the table as my blood pressure began to rise. My heart was racing. What could I do? Just then, Abra walked over to the table and pointed at the item ball on the left. I shot up, my eyes wide open. "Is this it?" I burst. "Is this the HP up?" Abra nodded slowly, and I swiped the item ball off the table. "Michael, Sabrina, come on guys, let's go!" I made off to the exit of the room, Michael following quickly, and Sabrina trailing behind.

"Good job, Abra," she quietly commented. Abra followed beside her, and Parasect scampered to my side. We stepped out of the room with the item ball in my hand, but as soon as we did it made a clicking sound and popped open, quickly releasing a cloud of hazy green gas. All five of us began choking and coughing, so we took off running.

"I thought Abra knew which the right ball was!" I choked out, grabbing my throat and running.

"Apparently his psychic powers weren't working either…" Michael said with a hint of desperation.

I smacked myself and said, "How could I have been so stupid! Of course! Crap, what are we going to do!" The gas was filling the air, and we were all choking a little bit more with each step. Finally we arrived at a flight of stairs, and we ascended it quickly. When I emerged from the steps on the next floor, I dove off to the side to get away from the perforating toxic gas and hit the floor in a coughing fit. My friends landed beside me. In a desperate move, I reached down and grabbed the Pokéball with Pidgeotto in it. I tossed it, and Pidgeotto popped out. "Pidgeotto…use…Whirlwind…blow…away the…gas…" Pidgeotto choked out a caw in reply and began beating his wings, which started up a powerful blow of wind. The gas began to blow away from us and dissipate. The three of us kept choking for a few moments, but Pidgeotto landed beside me and began to nuzzle me gently. I weakly petted him and sat up to try and regain my composure. "Praise the Lord," I said. "We barely made it through that one…"

"Amen to that," Michael casually added.

"Sabrina, are you okay?" I said, turning to her. She was apparently meditating. I stood up and looked around to assess the situation. Apparently we were still in this place—I suppose it was Team Rocket's hideout—but I didn't know how many floors there were. Michael walked off to the other side of the staircase while I was thinking. After a few seconds, I heard him say, "Hey, Zachi, come here." I got up and walked over to his side and peered into the larger room adjacent to the one we were in. The floor was _covered_ in strange little pads on the floor, which had arrows moving along them. There were other spots on the floors with four squares arranged in a pattern.

"…What do you think it is?" I whispered to Michael, nudging him.

"Dunno', but we're about to find out. Come on." He stepped out onto one of the arrow pads and began spinning off in the direction the arrow was pointing. "Woah, weird, I can't stop myself!" he said. He stopped spinning when he hit one of the tiles with the four squares. I almost stepped onto the arrow pad until I remembered Sabrina hadn't joined us. I turned around.

"Sabrina, come on, join us," I said, motioning her over. She stopped meditating and walked over to the entrance to the other room. We both followed Michael on the arrow pad, who had all ready grabbed an item ball containing a Rare Candy off the floor to the right. We began to confusedly make our way through the maze of arrow pads and what I called "stop pads"—the tiles with the four squares that would stop the effect of the arrow pads. After a while of trying to sort our way out of the maze of arrows we started playing around with them, attempting to stop ourselves, which didn't work, and attempting to enter the pads backwards, which also didn't work. They were the strangest things in the world because they literally _forced _you to go in the direction they pointed. The brief respite of playing around with the arrow pads really lightened our moods, considering the situation and all. Nevertheless, after taking turns using another arrow pad, a Rocket member spotted us.

"Hey, intruders! Get them!" he yelled, waving his hand at apparently some of his buddies.

"Oh crap!" I yelled. Michael chimed in with "Let's get the heck out of here!" We took off running and stepped onto an arrow pad pointing away from the Rockets. It sent us to another arrow that sent us back around towards the Rockets. The four of them tossed Pokéballs, so we, having no other choice, threw our Pokémon out to fight. I chose Nidoking, Sabrina chose Kadabra, and Michael chose Graveler. The Rockets' Pokéballs revealed a Koffing, a Rattata, a Meowth, and a Growlithe. Sabrina snickered, and her eyes lit up purple. Kadabra stepped forward, and his eyes glowed in synch with Sabrina's. Kadabra's grin mimicked Sabrina's as well, and he thrust forward his left three-fingered hand at the Koffing, then clenched it into a fist. The Koffing shook and hit the ground, its normal flow of perpetual toxic gas stopping, and its eyes rolling back.

"What! You took Koffing out in one hit!" the Rocket snarled in frustration. Battle had all ready begun between the rest of us. Michael's Graveler managed to take out Growlithe fairly quickly with a deftly timed Dig, and Nidoking was working on Meowth with a Thrash. The Rocket with the Growlithe recalled the Pokémon and ran off deeper into the hideout as Kadabra took on Rattata. Moments later he returned with another Pokéball and a posse of more Rocket grunts. Michael, Sabrina and I collectively gasped, and my eyes grew wide as I saw the horde of Rockets sending out Pokémon. Meowth fainted, and more Pokémon replaced it and began to take on Nidoking. I sent out Pikachu, Weepinbell, and Pidgeotto to continue to fight. The battle was growing in size, but we three trainers couldn't handle the entirety of the Rocket members. Suddenly I realized the situation had become even worse—one of the Rockets sent his Growlithe to attack Sabrina instead of her Kadabra. Adrenaline flared in my chest. What were they thinking! Pokémon are not supposed to attack humans! I redirected Pidgeotto, who did a Quick Attack on the Growlithe, sending it flying off course. I growled under my breath and turned towards the Rockets. As I did, I caught something out of the corner of my eye flying down from the ceiling. A large man swung down on a rope from the steel rafters and crashed into a large bulk of Rockets, knocking them down.

"Haha! Take that, Rocket scum!" he laughed and punched another Rocket member. The fellow grabbed a Pokéball off his belt and tossed it, revealing a huge Pokémon who promptly fell directly on top of the Rocket horde and fell asleep. Michael started laughing instantly at the trapped and disabled Rocket group, but it took me a moment to snap out of the battle focus to realize what had happened. I then began to crack up as well.

"Hey! You!" the large man said, pointing at me. He had taken his focus off the Rockets and started walking over to me, looking rather miffed. "Hey kid, where's my Pokémon?"

I looked at him like he had three eyes and said, "What are you talking about, dude?"

"The Eevee! You took it from my buddy Mr. Know-it-all!" That caught my attention. Was he talking about the weird guy at the top of the building I had gone into? My mind raced and made connections… "I KNOW EVERYTHING!" and… "Mr. Know-it-all!"… I glanced down at my belt and looked at the Pokéball with the mysterious Pokémon in it. I hadn't really had a chance to find out what was in the Pokéball… Was it possible I had gotten an Eevee on accident? Maybe then I could finally have the Jolteon I always wanted? The large man grabbed my shirt, which snapped me out of my thought pattern. "I'm talking to you! You better hand Eevee over right now, punk!" As I was about to try and make a get-away, my conscience got the better of me. It was _his _Eevee, afterall. I was about to reach down and grab the Pokéball to hand it over to him when the Rockets somehow managed to climb out from under the huge Pokémon who was smothering them in its sleep.

Michael distracted both of us, yelling, "Look guys, Team Rocket is coming around!"

"Get him! You traitor!" As the large guy turned to face the Rockets, it hit me that he was the man from the underground passage. What was with that? Both the girl and the guy from the underground passages were somehow involved with Team Rocket. Perhaps Team Rocket was in control of the passages. The Rockets came after us and grabbed the guy from the underground passage and began to pummel him. The huge Pokémon started to wake up and slap around, sending Rocket members flying into walls and knocking them unconscious once again. The other Rockets began to send out their Pokémon, so I reached back down towards my belt but hesitated. Should I use the Eevee? I decided I should and tossed the Pokéball, which popped open to reveal a cute little Eevee. I grinned when I saw it and thought to myself, That's what I need, an Eevee.

"Eevee! Attack that Ekans!" I commanded. Eevee nodded and leapt at an enemy Rocket's Ekans and began to pummel it. I was impressed by Eevee's performance and began to cheer him on. He took out the Ekans without taking much more than a scratch and moved on to another Rocket Pokémon. "Go Eevee!" I exhorted him. He would look back at me for approval after certain accomplishments, and I'd grin and praise him more. Sabrina's Pokémon were fighting fiercely, as were Michael's, but I could tell they were getting worn down. Eevee fought on furiously, though. The huge Pokémon had fallen asleep, but most of the Rocket members were either unconscious or had been beaten. Finally, the last Rocket Pokémon fell. Eevee grinned and ran over to me and sprang for my arms. I happily embraced it and said, "Good job Eevee! You were amazing!" I honestly was impressed.

The large man walked back over to me and said, "Ah-hah! There's my Eevee! I'll be taking that, if you don't mind…" I couldn't really protest, seeing as Eevee wasn't mine, but it had all ready started to fall asleep in my arms, probably exhausted from battling. As the large man started to pick it up by the scruff of the neck it sprung to wake and bit his hand. "Ow!" he yelped, dropping Eevee back into my arms and shaking his red hand.

"Looks like Eevee doesn't like you, hah," I said with a laugh. The guy smirked at me and reached for Eevee, who bit him again. I laughed once more. Looks like this was going to be harder than he thought…

►To Be Continued…


	12. Episode 12

Episode 12: False Security

Sabrina, Michael, and I resumed navigating the maze of arrow and stop pads quickly, the large man in tow. He had decided he would wait until we had made it out to reclaim Eevee from me. We all stepped on an arrow pad pointing north and made our way through a narrow corridor, which led us out of the maze. We saw a staircase leading upwards in the middle of the room and headed directly for it.

"So, where exactly are we?" I asked the big guy, "And how did you know I had Eevee?"

"I used to work for Team Rocket," he explained. "This is their hideout, their base. We're underneath the Celadon City casino, in case you didn't know. They probably knocked you guys out and dragged you down here. What did you do to piss them off, anyway?"

"Uh…nothing?" Michael suggested innocently.

"Well, I helped bust their chops back in Mt. Moon…they had some sort of illegal operation going on, and I took out several of their grunts in fair Pokémon battles. I guess they just can't take a loss."

"That sounds just like Team Rocket," the man said bitterly. "There's a reason I left the organization, you know."

We emerged on another floor with a corridor housing some arrow pads to the right and a Rocket grunt standing a few feet from us, apparently on patrol. Fortunately, he had his back to us and didn't notice our arrival. We quickly ducked into the corridor to avoid being spotted.

"What should we do?" Michael whispered.

"I guess our best bet would be to go ahead and take him out. I don't see any other grunts around, so just one of them shouldn't be too hard. What do you say, Sabrina?"

Sabrina nodded slightly, and I grabbed Eevee's Pokéball off my belt and boldly stepped around the corner, tossing the ball. "Hey! You over there! Let's fight!" I yelled at the Rocket grunt.

"Stop right there, intruder! I'm going to give you a taste of Team Rocket!" the grunt yelled back. He grabbed a Pokéball and threw it to reveal an Ekans. Eevee quickly knocked out the Ekans, and the Rocket grunt blacked out. Well, that was easy. I felt a hit on my head and saw the big guy who was following us giving me a gaze of death.

"Quit using my Eevee! He's not yours, you know. I'm getting him back as soon as we're out of here," he chastised me.

"Right," I retorted sarcastically. I recalled Eevee, and the four of us cautiously stepped past the unconscious grunt, rounded a corner and ascended another flight of stairs. We emerged facing another flight of stairs and sneakily went over and ascended them. As we climbed the stairs, I heard the shuffle of running footsteps, and my heart began to sink. I looked back over my shoulder, and sure enough there was a group of Rocket grunts running towards the stairs. Michael hadn't even waited to say something; he was all ready shoving past me to get up the stairs. Sabrina continued her usual pace.

"Oh crap! Here come more grunts!" I hollered, quickly darting up the stairs. Sabrina and the big guy were lagging behind. "Come on, you two! What, do you want us to get caught?" I turned to look forward and came to an abrupt stop behind Michael. Oddly enough, at the top of the staircase there was no exit. The stairs just led to a solid wall in our way. The Rockets were rapidly ascending the stairs behind us, and the four of us were standing at the wall in a stupor. I had no idea what to do. "Michael! What the blazes is going on!" I spat frantically.

"I don't know! Why are you asking me! Look, here come the Rocket grunts!" said Michael.

"Hey, you four! Don't move a muscle! You're in serious trouble! Giovanni's gonna' eat you guys alive!" yelled one of the Rocket grunts. I grimaced, and, out of frustration and anger, turned around and punched the wall in front of us as hard as I could.

"Oww!" I yelled, gripping my fist. I looked at the spot on the wall where my fist had hit and saw that I had punched some sort of funny-looking spot. Suddenly, the wall slid up and revealed a room in front of us. "Whoa, it must be some sort of secret passage!" I exclaimed as the four of us ran through into the room. We were sprinting frantically about, trying to find a safe haven from the grunts hot on our tail. I took a right and realized I was in a back corner of the Celadon casino. "Guys, follow me!" I said, motioning Michael and Sabrina. The big guy was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he had rejoined the Rockets, or perhaps he knew where to go to escape. I wondered why _he _hadn't thought to push the button on the secret door. The three of us ran down one of the aisles of the casino, darting past gamblers who were playing on the slot machines.

"Hey, you kids! Stop right there!" came a voice from the back of the casino. I glanced over my shoulder and saw employees of the casino chasing us alongside the Rocket grunts. Apparently they controlled this whole building. I figured the casino must have just been a front for the Rocket base.

"Zachi! What are you doing? Hurry up! Come on, we have to get out of here!" Michael said frantically, beckoning me towards the exit. I took off and followed him and Sabrina. We flung open the doors of the casino and found ourselves in the streets of Celadon city once more.

"What should we do?" I queried Michael.

"I don't know!" came his frantic response. I looked back and forth, to the left and right. Just then, Rocket grunts burst out of the casino behind us and the coin exchange building to our left. Knowing nowhere else to go, I grabbed Sabrina and Michael by the wrists and hopped the fence to our right, realizing too late that we were all headed directly for a pond. Splash! In an instant, I was totally submerged in water and could only vaguely hear the frantic shouts of the Rocket grunts from the other side of the fence. I surfaced, gasping for air, and noticed Michael and Sabrina frantically kicking and swimming for the edge of the pond, which was apparently directly in front of some old lady's house. She was sitting on her porch in an old rocking chair. She spotted us and stood up slowly.

"Hey you young'uns! Come quick!" she cried with a raspy, old lady voice. The three of us swam to the edge of the pond and got out, running quickly into the old lady's house through the open door she had left us.

"Thank you so much, miss, I'm so sorry we're all wet and that we dived into your pond and made a mess out of things and—" I began rambling.

"…and we're so sorry if we're making a mess out of your stuff and getting stuff all wet and we don't mean to impose—" Michael joined me.

She cut us both off, smiling and saying, "Oh, it's no big deal. You're not the first group of kids that Team Rocket has been after. They're a bunch of no-good criminals, you know. You three must be cold in those wet clothes. Do you have some spare clothes, by any chance? You could go change in the restroom, if you need to…"

Michael and I both simultaneously reached back for our backpacks and found them to be totally filled with water and soaking wet. We both sweat-dropped.

"Well, you might as well empty your bags on the floor and give 'em a chance to dry. I'll make some hot tea. As for you, young lady, I have an old thing or two from when I was your age you could put on for a bit, if you'd like…"

Sabrina gave a tiny smile—she never did smile much—and got up to follow the old lady, who smiled one of those really big smiles again. Michael and I stood there in the doorway, still dripping with water. After a few seconds, Michael reached over and locked the deadbolt on the door.

"Just to be safe, you know," he said with a slight chuckle. I grinned at him and gave him a friendly slug in the arm.

"Well, that was our craziest adventure to date, wouldn't you say?" I asked him with a grin.

"Yeah, really, who would have thought we would have made it out of Team Rocket's own base alive!"

"Whatever happened to that big guy, anyway? I've still got his Eevee…" I said, looking down at Eevee's Pokéball on my belt.

"I don't know; he just disappeared after we made it through that secret door."

I shrugged and took Eevee's Pokéball off my belt, tossing it in the air and catching it. A few moments later, Sabrina and the old lady re-emerged from the back of the house. Sabrina was no longer in her usual violet coveralls/jumpsuit; she was wearing a bright pink poodle skirt and a matching knit sweater. I've seldom seen Sabrina blush, but she surely did blush when she walked out there. Michael started laughing at her, and her eyes glowed a bright violet. She raised her hand and did a pushing gesture at Michael, shoving him back against the wall.

"Hey, that's not funny!" Michael exclaimed, picking himself up and brushing off his clothes.

"Heh, well, maybe if you had kept your mouth shut…" I said, giving him a friendly slap on the chest. He looked disgruntled and crossed his arms. "Do you think maybe we could have a towel or two to dry off a little?" I politely asked the old lady.

She smiled brightly and said, "Sure, just slip off your shoes and come back to the restroom, I'll get you some of my nice, fluffy towels." Michael and I followed her back to the restroom, where she retrieved some towels from one of the cabinets. Michael and I quickly dried ourselves off to the best of our ability and slipped off our wet socks. I took off my wet vest and hat, and we walked back through the old lady's house. "You might try spreading those things out on the back patio so the sun can dry them out," she suggested.

"That sounds like a great idea," I added, and Michael and I stepped outside. We both emptied our backpacks and spread out our belongings on the hot cement. Moments later, the four of us were sitting in the old lady's living room on her old couches drinking hot green tea. Michael and I sat on our towels. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and Michael followed suit.

"Man, it's been a crazy day, huh, Zachi?" Michael said passively.

"You said it, man…" I replied, taking a sip of my tea. The old lady's house was humid and musty and smelt of, well, old ladies. Sabrina, as usual, sat silently on a separate couch from Michael and me. The old lady was in another rocking chair, this time knitting.

"So you three are Pokémon trainers?" the old lady asked passively, not looking up from her knitting. The three of us nodded. "What brings you to Celadon City? You intend to challenge Erika for the Rainbow Badge?"

"My trusty Pokémon are going to cream Erika! Just you wait; I'll have the Rainbow Badge by tomorrow. My Nidorina can handle any Grass-type Pokémon," Michael announced proudly.

"Oh, is that so?" the old lady responded cheerfully. "Well, you should be careful. Only Erika's Tangela is going to be harmed by Poison-type moves. Her Victreebel and Vileplume can send the poison right back your way, you know."

"Well, if that's the case, Graveler's Dig will make them bite the dust," Michael retorted with a laugh.

"Erika is no weak Pokémon trainer. Don't be so haughty; she might make you eat those words soon enough. Her style is different, but her determination is intense. She can wear your Pokémon down, and her junior trainers are just the same. Be careful, and don't let your confidence go to your head."

"How do you know so much about her?" I asked curiously.

"Well, she's my granddaughter. My son taught her everything she knows about Pokémon, and he's a Pokémon League champion."

I jumped up from the couch. "A Pokémon League Champion!"

"Yes, he defeated the Elite Four a long time ago, back before you three were born. Did you know there used to be a Grass-type trainer in the Elite Four?"

"No, how did he manage that, I mean, what Pokémon did he use?" Michael said, apparently curious as well.

"He was the proud owner of Kanto's best Grass-type Pokémon. His lineup boasted some of the same Pokémon his daughter Erika's does—a Victreebel, a Tangela, a Vileplume—but also a Venusaur, an Exeggutor, and a Parasect. Back before the League started getting so soft, the Elite Four members were allowed six Pokémon in their lineup as compared to modern times' five Pokémon lineup."

"So basically he had all six final form Grass-type Pokémon?"

"Yes, son. And they were no level 40, 50, or 60 Pokémon. His Pokémon were in the 70's and 80's. Twenty years ago, beating the Elite Four meant something far more than being a tough Pokémon trainer; it meant being more like a Pokémon **master**."

I nodded thoughtfully. "So what happened to your son?"

"Yeah, what happened to him?" Michael chimed in.

"Well, he left the League when some of the modern regulations started to go into effect. He didn't feel like any of his Pokémon should be left out of his lineup, so he just couldn't continue to hold his position. I don't know what's become of him these days. A few years back, he told me he was going to venture to the land of Hoenn, but I heard nothing of it. God knows where he's at now."

"Hmm," I muttered. "Well, I'm all the more pumped about defeating Erika then! Then I can say I defeated the child of an ex-Elite Four member!"

"Yeah, definitely!" Michael added. The old lady chuckled.

"We should get going, guys. When we get back to the Pokémon Center we can dry our clothes there and crash for the night. What do you say, Michael, Sabrina?" I announced.

"Sounds like a plan!"

Sabrina nodded slightly. I jumped up and began to gather my things.

"How can we thank you for your kindness?" I said to the old lady.

"Just stay as far away from Team Rocket as you can, you hear?" the old lady said motherly. She smiled brightly again. "Before you go, have this as a gift, in case you need it against Team Rocket, or better yet, Erika." She walked over to a dusty old chest in the corner of the room and opened it, reaching in and retrieving a small object. "This is the 41st technical machine. It will teach certain Pokémon the move Softboiled."

"Awesome! Man, thanks!" Michael said, swiping it before I even had a chance to react. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Whoa, what, hey!" Michael exclaimed as the device floated out of his hands and into Sabrina's. I laughed aloud, and Sabrina gave a tiny grin. Michael angrily glared at her and resumed gathering his belongings. In a matter of moments, we had our things and were out the door. "Thanks again for everything!" Michael hollered back as we left.

"Say, why are you still wearing that old lady's stuff?" Michael questioned Sabrina, pointing at the old clothing pejoratively.

"She said I could keep it," Sabrina quietly replied. The three of us walked into the Celadon City Pokémon Center and checked into the lodging section of the building. We had tossed all our wet clothing into one of the dryers in the washateria there. Sabrina had her own room, and Michael and I were walking around in our skimpies in our room.

"So, Michael…" I began, retiring to my bunk bed with a sigh. "You ready for Erika to hand you your butt tomorrow?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, are you ready to lose?"

"Lose! What are you talking about?"

"Oww!" Michael and I both simultaneously exclaimed, reaching up and grabbing our heads.

"Did you hear that!" I burst, jumping down from my bunk and staring at Michael.

He sat up from his bed, head in hands, and said, "Yeah…What was it?"

"It was Sabrina screaming in our heads or something…oh no…maybe Team Rocket got to her!" I frantically turned around to dash out the door of the room, but Michael tackled me to the ground.

"Dude! You're not wearing any pants! At least put on some pants!" he said, getting off me.

"Dang, don't you think you could have told me instead of jumping on me?" I got up and quickly grabbed one of my wet pairs of pants and slipped them on, tossing one of my shirts on quickly. I darted out the room, Michael in tow, and went directly to Sabrina's room.

I knocked on the door hurriedly and said loudly, "Sabrina! Are you in there?"

There was no response.

Knock again.

"Sabrina? Are you in there? Hello? Are you sleeping?"

Again, no response. Michael shoved me out of the way and began banging and hammering on the door.

"Yo! Sabrina! Wake up in there!"

Still no response.

I frantically reached down and began twisting the doorknob and launching myself against the door, all to no effect. Michel again shoved me out of the way and began running directly at the door. I was worried we were going to wake somebody up or get in trouble, but I didn't know what to do.

"Michael, let's both slam the door together. One, two, three, go!" He and I collectively charged the door and managed to break it open. Sabrina was not in the room, but all her stuff was still there.

"Hey Zachi, check this out. What on earth happened here?" Michael said, motioning me over towards one side of the room. He pointed up at the ceiling, where there was a gaping hole.

"Oh no, I bet Team Rocket broke in here and kidnapped her!"

"But why!" Michael answered hotly.

"I don't know, but we're going back in there!" I announced furiously, charging out of the room back towards our own room.

"But Zachi, it's flippin' 8:30 p.m.! It's all ready dark outside, and we should be hitting the hay in about two hours! You mean to go charge back into Team Rocket's hideout at this hour?"

"What, are we supposed to be polite about breaking in? They took Sabrina, for goodness' sake! We've got to go help her! What kind of friend are you!" I said, quickly packing all my things together.

"Yeah, I guess you've got a point. Well, let me get my stuff together. I guess this is going to be a long night."

I ran down to the washateria and retrieved our clothing from the dryer, tossing them quickly back into our rooms and then heading out the door of the Center. I stood silently outside, arms crossed, and stared at the dimly lit city. Michael emerged from the Center a few moments later. The air was warm and humid, like Celadon City air usually is, but now it was crisp, too, with a slight breeze.

"So, what, we just waltz on down there and hope we find Sabrina inside? And what if she's not even in there at all, and we just go get ourselves killed? I think we should talk to the police first or something…"

"Look, Michael, this isn't funny, and I want these guys to leave us alone. We never did anything wrong, you know? The police aren't going to help us. They seldom help anyone. Besides, let's be heroes for a change! Let's go take care of this ourselves!"

Michael shrugged, consenting. I pulled Nidoking's Pokéball off my belt and released him. "Nidoking, let me take a ride on your back," I commanded. The large violet Pokémon bent over a little, and I climbed up his back and took a seat on one of the few spots not covered in horns and spikes. I liked sitting on Nidoking. I was furious at the thought of a friend of mine being kidnapped, and Michael and I were going to have justice served. Here I had this strong Pokémon, this Pokémon that I raised, bearing me up. I felt invincible.

Michael released Graveler and climbed on top of him. Our Pokémon set out towards the casino, the cool night air blowing in our faces. Nidoking was clearly faster than Graveler, so we had to keep slowing down and waiting for him to catch up. We finally arrived at the door to the casino and found that the place was still booming with activity. In fact, it was even busier than before. Michael and I climbed off our Pokémon and walked up to the door.

I put my hand on one of the handles, the lights from inside reflecting off the glass door and dancing about my gloves, and turned to Michael and said, "Well, this is it. You ready?"

He nodded confidently.

"Well, let's go."

►To Be Continued…


	13. Episode 13

Episode 13: Certain Destruction

Michael and I stepped confidently inside the casino, which was dimly lit but glowing brightly from the screens of the gambling machines. Our Pokémon lumbered behind us, thudding on the cheap carpet with each step. Few people even noticed the fact that we had Pokémon outside of their Pokéballs walking around the casino. I guess they were too busy with their gambling. After a few moments, I saw the employee standing behind the counter at the front of the casino motion to some other employees, all of whom were dressed in black. The employees dispersed and began to make their way over to Michael, Nidoking, Graveler, and me.

"Michael, quick, recall Graveler and hide!" I whispered, recalling Nidoking and dropping to the ground. He nodded and recalled Graveler, taking off in the other direction. I assumed he knew where to go. I sneaked around along the ground, hoping to avoid the casino employees, but after a few moments I looked up and realized I was staring one in the face.

"You've made a big mistake coming back here, kid," he said haughtily.

I stared him down. "Err…you better give Sabrina back, right now!" I exclaimed.

He smirked and pulled out a Pokéball. "Come on kid, show me what you've got."

I shook my head defiantly. "Eat my dust!" With that, I sent out Nidoking, and hopped on him. The casino employee stared in shock for a moment. "Come on Nidoking, let's go get Sabrina!" Nidoking, with me on his back, leapt up on top of one of the gambling machines, jumped into an aisle, and ran towards the back of the casino. I saw Michael fighting a battle with one of the casino employees out of the corner of my eye. "Michael! Finish him off and follow me back to the secret door!" Nidoking arrived in front of the secret door, and just as I was about to climb off his back, he reared back and smashed the door in with his fist. "Awesome!" I exclaimed. Nidoking jumped down the stairwell and took off running through the hideout. Rocket grunts were all ready hot on our tail. Nidoking could have easily run past all of them, but I hopped off and commanded him to stop. Michael came barraging down the stairs into the hideout a second later, right as the grunts caught up to the two of us. We were almost completely surrounded, but that's exactly the way I had planned it.

"Crap! We're caught!" Michael exclaimed in frustration.

"That's just how I want it! Let's take 'em all down!" I yelled excitedly. "Nidoking, go!"

Nidoking grunted to show his readiness and stepped forward, punching one fist into the open palm of his other hand.

"All right, you brats!" declared one of the grunts. "Let's battle!" He whipped out a Pokéball and tossed it, revealing a Rattata. Though they lacked respect for pretty much everything else, apparently Team Rocket members did have respect for Pokémon battles, as the other grunts stepped back so as to allow us to battle. Another grunt stepped up and challenged Michael. Michael and I quickly showed the grunts who was boss as we deftly knocked out Pokémon after Pokémon and consequently, grunt after grunt blacked out. Finally, there was only one grunt left. He stepped forward haughtily, tossing a Pokéball in the air and catching it.

"You kiddies ready for me? It's time to taste the true force of Team Rocket!" He laughed and threw his Pokéball at the ground, which popped open to reveal a Persian. "Yeah, that's right, look and weep. You two are going down."

I grinned and stepped forward. "Let me handle this one, Michael," I said. Michael nodded, and I grabbed Weepinbell's Pokéball. Weepinbell popped out and gave me a cry. He, as well as the rest of my Pokémon, had been battling for quite a while now and was tired. I could tell he was still going to be trustworthy and fierce. I had chosen Weepinbell because he was one of two Pokémon who weren't suffering from some sort of ailment. Pikachu had been poisoned by a Koffing; Parasect was paralyzed from a Magnemite; Pidgeotto had actually fainted due to an Onix using Self-Destruct. Nidoking hadn't taken any ailments, fortunately, but he was exhausted from battling. I knew Weepinbell would be able to handle Persian, though.

"All right, Persian, take that weak plant down! Give it a Pay Day!"

The Persian meowed and came up to the Rocket grunt, reaching his paw into a small satchel on the Rocket grunt's belt. He removed his paw to reveal a fistful of rolled coins, which he promptly threw with what appeared to be all his might at Weepinbell. Weepinbell took the hit square in middle of his body and was knocked to the ground.

"Come on Weepinbell, get up, let's show this grunt who's boss!" I shouted, urging him on. Weepinbell cried back to me and picked himself up. "That's right, now make him sleep like the baby he is!" At my command, Weepinbell began vigorously shaking his leaves, sending an amber-colored powder right onto the muzzle of the grunt's Persian. After a few seconds, the Persian began to sway and blink his eyes slowly. Within moments, he was sound asleep and snoring on the floor of the Rocket hideout. I grinned.

"Oh, think you're clever, huh? Well, try this on for size!" The Rocket grunt recalled Persian and tossed a new Pokéball onto the ground. It burst open to reveal a Growlithe of strong vigor. I furrowed my brow and narrowed my eyes in thought. I sure do wish I had a Poliwhirl, I thought to myself. I figured my tough Nidoking could handle anything his Growlithe could dish out, so I recalled Weepinbell and unleashed Nidoking.

"Nidoking, let's take out that Growlithe! Thrash him!" Nidoking grunted in reply, but Growlithe was all ready prepared to attack by the time Nidoking had come out. The Growlithe spat fiery embers at Nidoking's feet, who promptly began jumping around to avoid the heat, but didn't seem terribly fazed by the attack. After the embers had died out, Nidoking leapt at the Growlithe, giving him a good thrashing. Taking advantage of Nidoking's proximity, however, Growlithe landed a critical hit with a bite to Nidoking's ear, one of his soft spots. Nidoking growled in pain. "Nidoking, you can do it! Keep thrashing him!" I cheered.

"Growlithe, don't let his size intimidate you! Bite him again!" came the cheer from the Rocket grunt. Nidoking thrashed the Growlithe again, who returned yet another bite. Nidoking seemed to still have a little bit of fight left in him, but the Growlithe seemed about ready to faint. I figured one more thrashing would take him out.

"Nidoking, let's take him out with one more thrash! Go! You can do it!" Nidoking again thrashed the Growlithe, landing a solid, heavy punch right to the Growlithe's head. Growlithe let out a cry of pain and collapsed.

"Think you're good, huh?" the Rocket grunt said, recalling his fallen Growlithe. "Well, try Koffing on for size!" Team Rocket seemed to use all the same kind of Pokémon. I guess they had to follow some kind of code, or perhaps they all hunted Pokémon in the same place.

"Great job, Nidoking, now return!" I commanded, recalling my weakened Pokémon. "Parasect, go!" I tossed Parasect's Pokéball at the ground, which burst open to reveal my Parasect in a flash of light. Unfortunately, Parasect had the slight disadvantage of being paralyzed, and I had used up my last Paralyze Heal in an earlier battle.

"Zachi, why are you sending out a paralyzed Pokémon?" Michael questioned.

"Dude, I'm in the middle of a battle. I'm trying to concentrate. I know what I'm doing here," came my hasty reply.

The Rocket grunt laughed and said, "Don't worry; he won't be paralyzed much longer. In a few moments, he'll be knocked out!" He laughed more, snickering wickedly at his perceived victory.

"Oh, shut up, will you? Parasect, recover some health from that Koffing! Leech Life!" Parasect chirped in compliance and leapt onto the Koffing, sinking in his orange fangs and draining a small bit of life from the Koffing, who promptly tackled my Parasect to the ground. Parasect got up and continued my health-absorbing strategy. This time Koffing expelled Parasect with a blast of smog. Hitting the ground for a second time, Parasect's condition got the better of him, and he became immobilized.

"Haha! Here is where I defeat you! Koffing, tackle Parasect again!"

"Parasect, return it with another Leech Life!"

In the thick of the smog, Koffing's tackle attack missed Parasect by an inch, who latched onto Koffing and sucked out more life. Koffing once again tackled Parasect to the ground, but was appearing to be worn out from the fight.

"All right Parasect! He's almost out! Now finish him up with Cut!" Parasect again chirped in response but was of course slower than Koffing.

"Koffing! Blind your foe! Smokescreen!" Koffing blasted out a smokescreen, but Parasect cut right through the fog and landed the final blow to Koffing, who grunted and fell to the ground. "No! Koffing! How could you fail me!" the grunt exclaimed, recalling his Pokémon in frustration.

"Great job, Parasect! Way to go for kicking his butt!" I said with a grin.

"This only leaves me with Persian…" the grunt said forlornly. He tossed Persian's Pokéball, who popped out sleeping. I grinned more and recalled Parasect.

"All right Weepinbell, come on, let's take this guy out!" I tossed Weepinbell's Pokéball, and he appeared with another cry of glee. "Get him! Vine Whip!" Weepinbell reached out and delivered a whip to Persian which resounded with a crack. I winced a little at the sound of it.

"I'd say this guy's pretty much history, Zachi…" Michael said, still observing the fight.

"You shut up, you little pipsqueak!" the grunt exclaimed. "Come on, wake up, Persian!"

"Weepinbell, Vine Whip again!" I exclaimed. Weepinbell repeated his attack on the still sleeping Persian.

"Persian! Wake up!" the grunt continued to urge.

Persian still slept. Weepinbell delivered another Vine Whip, and the battle was over. Persian rolled over in defeat, and the final Rocket grunt was history.

"Excellent work, guys!" I congratulated my Pokémon. I recalled Weepinbell and replaced his Pokéball on my belt.

"I didn't think we'd be able to handle that many Rocket grunts," Michael commented. "That battle was pretty interesting though. That guy was almost sort of challenging. You know, considering all the fear that Team Rocket strikes into the hearts of the people around here, they sure are lousy trainers."

"I know, right? Now let's go find Sabrina. She can't be too far."

He and I promptly began to explore the first floor of the hideout, which, as far as we could ascertain, was empty at that point.

"I guess we finished off all the grunts on this floor?" Michael suggested as he and I hunted around, occasionally nabbing an item.

"I guess so. I hate to say this, but we're going to have to retreat for a moment. Pikachu's almost fainted from poisoning. Let's run back to the Pokémon Center and heal our team so we can continue to search for Sabrina."

"But then the grunts will have time to wake up and recuperate, and then we'll have to fight them all over again."

"I know, but I can't keep battling. My team is beat, and like I said, Pikachu's nearly knocked out from this poisoning. Look, I've got an Escape Rope, so we can be out of here in a jiffy. You ready for me to use it?"

"I guess so," Michael said hesitantly. "Say, why do they call it an 'escape rope,' anyway? It's not even a rope or anything…"

"I guess it has the same function an actual escape rope might have if we were spelunking or something. I don't know. Anyway, let's hurry. I don't want to give these grunts time to come to their senses."

"All right, use it."

Since Michael had given me the go-ahead, I fished the Escape Rope out of my backpack which was really a tiny little device, not a rope at all and pressed the red button on it. In a moment and a flash of light, Michael and I appeared outside the casino doors.

"Now, let's head over to the Pokémon Center," I said, releasing Nidoking and climbing on his back. Michael released his Raticate and climbed on its back. The two of us quickly headed for the Pokémon Center, where we dismounted and went inside, handing our Pokéballs six at a time to the nurse on duty. She placed the Pokéballs on the healing machine, which chimed as it healed our Pokémon. As soon as we had gone in, we were back out again and headed back towards the casino. Rather than walking directly up to the doors, Michael and I stood to one side of them, and I leaned over and peered through the glass at the inside of the casino. There were casino employees lining the aisles, apparently on the lookout for Michael and me.

"What do you see? What's going on in there?" Michael whispered to me.

"They've got guards keeping an eye out on things. This isn't going to be as easy as it was the first time."

"I've got an idea. How about this—how about we go in there, yelling, hollering, screaming, being crazy, you know, making a big scene—we'll throw 'em for a trump card and maybe manage to get past 'em on sheer account of the shock factor. We'll scare 'em into letting us get by!"

I looked at Michael like he had three eyes and blinked for a moment. "Where in the heck do you come up with nonsense like that? Why would that work?"

"I don't know; it just seems like a good idea. I think they'll fall for it."

I paused for a moment to think.

"All right, fine. We'll try it. But if we end up screwed, I'm gonna' blame it all on you, okay?"

"Deal! Let's go!"

Before I had a chance to say anything else, Michael slipped past me and burst into the casino, waving his arms wildly and shouting and screaming at the top of his lungs. I paused for a moment and then followed. Michael shoved past people as best as he could—he was a bit of a larger person, so although he had more weight to throw around, he couldn't slip by people as well as I could. I mimicked his antics and went down an opposite aisle, headed towards the back of the casino. Some people were getting out of my way, including employees, but a few moments later I ran smack dab into the same iron-faced employee who had tried to stop me the first time we had gone into the casino.

"You're not getting away this time, punk!" he said coldly. I continued to wave my arms and spit raspberries and scream, but he did not respond. Instead, everything went black after I felt a strong whack to the back of my head.

Reality came back to me slowly, and I found myself bound and gagged as before, only this time I was tied to a chair and not a pole in the wall. I was looking down at my lap, so I immediately looked up and saw a huge desk in front of me with a big leather chair behind it. Nobody was occupying it though. I looked to my right and saw Michael in the same position, except he was still unconscious. I groaned mentally out of sheer anger. This was the second time these jerks had knocked us out and taken us to their base and tied us up, and I was getting pretty sick of it. After sitting there, bound, for a few moments, I noticed Michael started to wake up. He looked up and apparently registered where we were and noticed me. I gave him a look of sympathy, but of course we couldn't speak to each other due to the gags. We both sat there for a few moments, and then a Rocket grunt walked in and slipped off our gags. I didn't want to get myself in any more trouble, so I remained silent and watched as the Rocket grunt walked over to Michael to undo his. Of course, as soon as Michael's gag was off, he immediately began talking.

"What the blazes are you guys doing to us! This isn't funny! You better let us out of here right now!" he hollered.

"Michael! Shut up! Don't get us in any more trouble!"

He fell silent, and the Rocket grunt walked over to a door and opened it. Just then, the short stocky guy with the short black hair walked in, wearing the same getup he was wearing when I saw him earlier. He was holding a fat cigar and walking slowly. He had the same devilish smirk on his face. I grit my teeth as he walked by and sat down in the leather chair behind the desk.

"Kids, kids," he began, looking diminutively at Michael and me. "When are you two going to learn to stop meddling in the affairs of Team Rocket?"

"When are you going to learn not to mess with our friend!" I spat back at him fiercely.

"Your friend? Oh, hah, yes, your little girlfriend. Ah, rest assured, boys, she's been quite safe with my men. Unfortunately, that's all about to end, right here. I'm going to have to take care of you three the hard way, it seems. You three need to be silenced—eh, put out of the picture, that is."

"She's not my girlfriend," I objected.

"What do you mean, 'silenced'?" Michael asked angrily.

The mean-looking man…what did that grunt say his name was…Giovanni! Giovanni snickered at Michael and took a puff on his cigar.

"You'll find out soon enough," he said lowly. "Bring out the girl!"

Two Rocket grunts burst through the same door by which Giovanni had entered, each holding one of Sabrina's arms, who apparently had her hands tied behind her back and some sort of strange gizmo on her head. She was gagged, although I couldn't imagine her doing a lot of talking, anyway.

"What's that thing you put on her head!" I exclaimed, nodding towards the gizmo.

"Oh, well, I thought you'd never ask," Giovanni said proudly. "That, son, is a device used to block all her psychic powers. If you'll recall, back when I had you three play my fun little game with the item balls, she wasn't able to telepathically determine which ball was which. I have blocking devices all throughout the hideout, but I didn't want to take any chances this time, so I just put one right on her head. That scream you two heard back at the Pokémon Center was the last thing she did with that brain of hers, because we slammed that sucker on there right afterwards. We couldn't have her causing too many problems."

The whole time Giovanni was rambling, my eyes were nervously glancing briefly at Sabrina over and over. She actually looked a little bit emotional for the first time, although I couldn't have said that this was the ideal situation to draw out emotion in her. Normally whenever she was even a little bit emotional, her eyes glowed a bright, vivid violet—but now they were not glowing at all. I guess that meant the glowing eyes were a psychic thing. Her violet eyes—they were violet in the same way mine were brown—were now starting to get a little bit red. I was scared she was going to cry, but I couldn't picture Sabrina crying, ever. I felt a little bit embarrassed to be having such a moment of reflection in such a vital situation as this, but I didn't know what else to do. My concentration was broken, though as Giovanni resumed his speech.

"Now," Giovanni began, leaning back in his big leather chair. "I'm going to have two of my officers take care of you pests for good. You should feel grateful I brought your girlfriend in here so you could see her one last time. You should feel even more grateful that you were privileged to see some of Team Rocket's top-notch technology." Giovanni then snapped his fingers and said, "Butch, Cassidy, take these kids out of here. I've had enough of them." Two Rocket members walked through the door. They weren't wearing the usual Rocket grunt uniform with the shirt and trousers and cap. Instead, the guy, apparently Butch, wore no hat and had white gloves and white boots. He still sported the black shirt with the red _R_ and the black pants. The girl, apparently Cassidy, sported a similar black shirt, no hat, and also white gloves and boots. She, however, wore a short, tight, black miniskirt, that was slightly split to allow movement. Butch's hair was a turquoise color, parted down the middle and even around the edges, almost like a chili bowl cut, but instead a little flatter. Cassidy had bright orange hair with prominent bangs drawn into two long ponytails which were teased into spiky balls at the ends. The two of them almost seemed more interested in their style than in their job, but they seemed delighted to carry out their orders. The same two grunts who had walked Sabrina in dragged her out, and Cassidy and Butch re-gagged Michael and me and lifted us up by our chairs and began to carry us out of the room, which must've been Giovanni's office. I guess Cassidy figured she couldn't lift Michael. This was no time for vanity, though. My mind was racing as I desperately tried to think of a plan to get out of this situation. I had no idea how they intended to 'silence' us, but I wasn't about to find out.

"You kids were awfully stupid to meddle in the affairs of Team Rocket. Now you'll pay," Butch said with a wicked snicker. He and Cassidy opened a door which revealed a gaping hole on the other side and shoved Sabrina, then Michael, and the finally me, in. We fell through pitch black space.

The silence was blinding, the darkness was deafening.

►To Be Continued…


	14. Episode 14

Episode 14: Hellgar

After a few moments of falling through heavy, thick, blackness, I hit the damp ground back first, shattering the chair on contact and then bouncing and rolling side over side across the ground. I could see nothing, and all I could hear were the cries of pain from Michael and Sabrina. After rolling a few times, I came to a stop face-down. All the pain of the fall hit me at once, and I arched my back, letting out a muffled blast of pain. My hands were still tied behind my back, and my legs were still tied together. A few splintered pieces of the chair were still woven into the ropes which bound me, and the gag was still around my head. Gently nuzzling my mouth against the clammy conglomerate floor, I dislodged the gag and gasped for air. I could hear either Michael or Sabrina ways away from me moaning in pain.

"Michael…? Sabrina…?" I said faintly and weakly, coughing. My entire body ached, and I could feel open gashes and scrapes on my face. I could see nothing. The darkness was impenetrable. I strained my eyes as hard as I could but still saw nothing.

"Zachi?" came Michael's faint voice in the distance. I attempted to lift my aching head up from the ground, but my neck was too badly injured. Pain shot up my spine as I moved it, and I immediately lay my head back down on the damp ground, the dirt and moisture burning the wounds on my face like fire.

"I'm here, Michael," I replied through grunts of pain.

"Where's Sabrina?"

"I don't know…Sabrina? Can you hear us?"

"I'm here," came her abrupt, brief response. She was apparently controlling her pain very well, as her voice didn't sound strained like Michael's and mine did.

"Good," I said, still weak. "I don't know if I can move. I'm still tied up, and it hurts to move anything. I'll try and get out of these ropes." I gingerly maneuvered my hands about, which hurt all throughout my back and shoulders, but couldn't get out of the ropes.

"Zachi, wait a minute, I've got a better idea," Michael said quickly, sounding a little more confident. A few seconds later, I saw a red flash of light, like a Pokémon was being released. A bright light shown as the form of a Graveler appeared. I quickly looked around and saw Michael and Sabrina laying on the ground, both of whom were far from me but close to each other. The ground beneath me looked to be stained, dirty, slimy, wet concrete, like what one might find in the dampest corner of a basement. The light was gone as soon as it appeared, but I heard Graveler make a grunting noise.

"How did you manage to release Graveler?" I said weakly to Michael through the dark air.

"Hold on a second," Michael said. "Graveler, go untie Zachi." I heard Graveler's thudding footsteps and felt his stony hands untying me a few moments later.

"Thanks, Graveler," I said, weakly moving my hands to a more comfortable position by my side. Graveler gave me a grunt in reply and apparently walked back over to Michael. I still could not see anything. I reached down for my Pokéballs on my belt, thinking I would unleash Pikachu and have him use Flash, but to my horror, I found that all my Pokéballs were gone! "Oh no! All my Pokéballs are missing!" I exclaimed frantically.

"Mine are too," Michael said weakly. "I'm glad I thought to hide one in my concealed pocket before they got to me, though. It's a good thing it was Graveler too, because he can see in the dark, being a cave-dwelling Pokémon and all."

The brilliance of Michael's plan became clear to me, and I respected him for it, especially considering his plans were usually wacky, like the one he devised to help us get past the casino employees earlier. I slowly and cautiously rolled over onto my back to become more comfortable. Every joint, every muscle, every inch of my body ached. I thought I was going to die, which is exactly what Team Rocket had planned. It finally hit me though that Team Rocket had not killed us—they had just dumped us in this pitch black room, apparently some sort of basement, or something. Pain shooting through my arms and chest, I reached down and felt into my pockets, which were empty. I was completely unprepared.

"Michael, how are we going to get out of here?" I said aloud, my strength slowly beginning to return.

"I have no idea. It would help a lot if we could see something. I guess you don't have Pikachu with you?"

"No, they got him and all my other Pokémon."

"This really sucks. I don't want to die in here."

"I have a plan," Sabrina said quietly.

"Oh really?" I said, curious.

"Go ahead, what is it?" Michael joined.

"If you two could help me get this device off, perhaps I could communicate with Kadabra and get him to send help."

I paused for a moment and said, "I can't move, though. I can barely move my arms, and I don't even know where you two are."

"I'm pretty badly banged up, too," Michael said. "Could Graveler get it off for you?"

"Have him try," I suggested.

"Graveler, go get that thing off Sabrina's head," Michael commanded. I heard the thudding of Graveler's footsteps and the clank of his stony hands against the metal device. After a few seconds, I heard the clink of metal hitting the ground.

"Well?" I said expectantly.

"It's off," Sabrina said quietly.

"Can you get through to Kadabra?" Michael asked anxiously.

There was a long pause which seemed to last forever.

"No, I guess we're both in places where our telepathy is blocked," came her depressing response. I let out a sigh of frustration.

"Well, crap, what are we going to do to get out of here?" I said, becoming more and more frantic by the moment.

"Maybe there's a door out of here?" Michael suggested.

"Why would they give us a door to just waltz out of here!" I spat back at him weakly, coughing.

"I don't know; they probably figured we wouldn't survive the fall. We nearly didn't."

"How would we find it anyway? It's not like I can even walk, really."

"I'll have Graveler check. Graveler, search the walls of this place for a door or something." I heard Graveler grunt again and lumber off into the darkness. I could hear his thudding footsteps resound through the room, traveling around me in circles as he circled the perimeter of the room. The room seemed to be fairly small, judging from the distance of the echoes. As Graveler continued to check the room, my thoughts raced on how to escape. How deep were we? Could the walls be scaled? Could Graveler perhaps climb the walls with us on his back? Maybe he could break the walls down? That might work.

"Hey, Michael! Don't Gravelers eat rocks and boulders and stuff?" I said with a bit of enthusiasm.

"Uh…no…but I did hear there is a Pokémon who does. I think it was a legend or something, though."

"Dang it! Do you think Graveler could climb the walls in here?"

"I don't know, but I'll have him tr—whoa, what was that noise!" Michael exclaimed as a rumbling sound resounded throughout the dungeon. It sounded like a door was opening. Then, I heard a low growling noise, like a Growlithe or Arcanine, but lower.

"Uh, Michael, what was that?"

"It sounded like a Pokémon," Sabrina added, almost a bit nervously.

"Let him come near me. I'll pick this battered body of mine up and show him what I'm made of!" Michael announced proudly.

"Don't be a fool, Michael! You don't know what we're up against. Where's Graveler?"

"Graveler! Come back!" Michael's voice echoed, but the echo was stopped by a fierce barking.

"Oh dang it. We are so dead if we don't figure something out quickly," I said, becoming frantic. I heard Graveler's footsteps thud back over towards us.

"Graveler, pick the three of us and try to go climb one of the walls," Michael commanded. Graveler grunted obediently. I heard the fierce barking again and began to slowly try to get up. Every inch of flesh and bone in me ached and stung, but I slowly started to stand up. Just then, I felt Graveler's strong rock arms pick me up and gently set me on his back. I gasped loudly in pain at the sudden motion, but I knew it was for the best.

The fierce bark sounded again through the darkness, and I heard the sound of light footsteps rushing in our direction. Apparently the creature had caught our scent. I was guessing at this point that it was some sort of dog-like Pokémon, perhaps an Arcanine, perhaps something rare and unknown. Whatever it was, it was rushing towards us. Graveler took off running, the three of us bouncing on his back with each thudding footstep. I heard the creature rushing closer. Whoosh! I heard his empty bite slash through the air.

"Oh no, oh no, he's right behind us!" I cried fiercely.

"Lemme' at 'em!" Michael exclaimed. I heard the bite cut through the air once more and could smell the fierce beast. I could still see nothing. "Graveler, turn around and give this thing a good what-for!" Michael commanded. Graveler came grinding and sliding to a halt across the damp pavement, and I could feel him turn around. I heard the whacking noise as his rocky fist crushed into what was probably the jowls of the monster behind us. "Now go! Take us to the wall!" Michael again commanded. Graveler immediately turned back around and took off again. The creature didn't growl or cry in pain, but it did seemed to be a bit slowed by the blow. A few moments later, Graveler came to a halt again. We had apparently reached the wall. I felt him rear back and smash his fist into the wall. The shockwave of the hit reverberated throughout the stony Pokémon's body, but apparently it didn't harm him at all. I heard the cement or rock of the wall crumble and fall to the ground.

Roar! In an instant, teeth pierced my jeans, and I soared through the air with one quick jerk from the beast. I crashed to the ground, sliding and screaming in pain as my tattered body limply rolled across the stone.

"Graveler!" came Michael's voice through the pitch blackness. "Take the beast out!" Thud, and then crumble! I heard the unknown creature yelp in pain. Apparently Graveler had thrown some of the dislodged wall at the animal.

"Michael…! Don't let that thing get you!" I gasped through strained breaths.

"I've got this under control, Zachi! Graveler, go ahead, throw another rock at that creature!" Again, I heard the thud and crumble of another rock hit the monster. Then, I heard Graveler's groan echo throughout the dungeon. Apparently the creature had gotten in a bite. Another resounding thud, and the creature yelped once more. Suddenly, the entire dungeon was brightly illuminated as a billowing pillar of fire burst out of the creature's mouth, engulfing Graveler. I caught a brief glimpse of some of the creature. It had a doglike head, a protruding muzzle, curled ears, and short, stubby black fur. Its muzzle was a bright orange. I could see its razor sharp teeth glistening in the light of the fire it was breathing. Graveler seemed almost unfazed by the inferno and walked forward to the creature slowly. He leapt and tackled the dog, which abruptly stopped the blast of fire as the animal collapsed under Graveler's heavy weight. The monster let out another yelp, which was followed by the sound of Graveler groaning. I was amazed that the monster—which must've been some sort of extremely rare Pokémon—could even bite Graveler, given his rocky flesh. I heard Graveler deliver another sound Rock Throw, and the creature let out one final yelp, then lay still. Graveler groaned out of exhaustion and collapsed to the floor, sending a shockwave throughout the dungeon.

"Good job, Graveler!" Michael exclaimed excitedly. Graveler grunted in reply.

"Hey…Graveler…you think you could give me a hand?" I mumbled weakly. Thud, thud, thud, came his steps, and then I felt him left me gently into the air and return me to my place on his stony back. I began to rhythmically rise and fall as Graveler slowly traveled through the inky darkness. After a moment, he stopped and bent over, apparently swooping up Michael and Sabrina, for I felt them take a place beside me on his back.

"Zachi?"

"Yeah, Michael?"

"You gonna' be all right?"

"I think so. I figure as long as I stay still, I'll make it."

A moment later, I heard a crunch as Graveler dug his hand into the rocky wall, and slowly we ascended.

"What was that Pokémon that attacked us?" I said wearily.

"I don't know; I've never seen anything like it before in my whole life."

"It was evil, whatever it was," Sabrina added quietly. "I could see the cruelty in its face."

"Pokémon can be evil?"

"Yeah, Zachi, haven't you ever heard of the evil Pokémon?" Michael said with surprising energy.

"I guess not. Man, I am so tired…"

"I know," Michael said with a yawn. "When we get out of here, I'm going to bed, first thing."

"Do you see that light?" Sabrina said calmly.

That got my attention. I slowly looked up and swiveled my head about, looking for light.

"Light? What light?" Michael burst.

"I don't see any light…"

"Look closely. It's only a sliver of a crack of light, but it's there."

I peered keenly through the murky blackness about me and happened to spot a ray of light, no larger than one of the lines in the palm of my hand. "I see it!" I exclaimed weakly.

"Where?" Michael added, confused.

"Look as hard as you can. It's tiny."

"Michael, command Graveler to go to that ray of light."

"Uh…all right…Graveler, go towards that light!" Graveler grunted, and our movements changed from an ascending climb to a rightwards strafe. Graveler moved with relative ease along the wall, despite his own condition. He was clearly well-adapted to this sort of environment. The three of us discussed what could possibly lay beyond that portal in the darkness, that ray of light which was now our ray of hope as well. A moment later, Graveler had arrived at the light, and for the first time in what seemed to be eternity, I could actually see the dirty brown of Graveler's rocky skin and the torn and bruised faces of my friends. Michael had a wide gash across his right cheek, and Sabrina had a dark bruise on her cheekbone. My hands were scratched and bleeding and covered in a dark dust.

"Perhaps this is the door out of which they threw us?" I suggested meekly, squinting at the light.

"There's only one way to find out. Graveler, break through this and find out what's behind it." Graveler gave his usual grunt of compliance, and reared one of his four arms back, plowing it directly into the seemingly impenetrable barrier in front of us. I heard a sharp crack, and dust and pieces of rock rained down on the three of us. Again Graveler bashed the wall, and the crack was greater. A third time, and more light began pouring through. Suddenly, we heard voices.

"What in the hell is going on in here? What's that racket?" came a muffled voice from the other side of the wall.

"Hurry up! You don't think those brats figured out some crazy way to escape the dungeon, do you?"

"The noise was coming from over here," the first voice said frantically.

I turned to Michael and fiercely whispered, "Oh no, we're at the Team Rocket hideout again! What should we do? They're about to find us!"

"Let's scare 'em like we did at the casino! Maybe if we shock 'em for a second we can run for it!"

"That stupid plan got us busted last ti—" I began but was cut off as the wall began to slide upwards like an automatic door, then fell apart halfway through its recession due to the damage it had sustained. Light flooded the darkness.

"Now!" Michael shouted, leaping off of Graveler's back with renewed strength. The adrenaline pumping through my body dulled all the screaming, tearing pain that coursed through my muscles as I leapt off of Graveler, tugging Sabrina along, who quickly picked up our pace. Graveler growled with what seemed to be all his might as the three of us ran frantically through the room. The Team Rocket members had jumped back out of fright but quickly recomposed themselves.

"Sound the alarm! The brats are alive! They escaped!" came the frantic cries of the two grunts. The door out of the room slid shut in front of us, and Michael hollered to Graveler, who promptly tore it down. The three of us continued to run, the Rocket grunts now almost immediately behind us. A siren rang out through the building, and red lights began to oscillate and flash as we took off down a corridor. Rounding a corner, I spotted an elevator a few feet away.

"Michel! Sabrina! Quick!" I ejaculated, pointing frantically at the elevator as I took off towards it. They and Graveler followed quickly. I was surprised that Graveler could keep up with us, but I was absolutely astonished at my body's ability to forget about all the injuries I had received earlier—though I could feel the pain creeping up on me with every step and breath I took.

The grunts were literally a matter of inches behind us as we dove into the elevator, which had only one passenger, another Rocket grunt. He was standing by the control panel and had just turned a key and pressed the button for the first floor as we landed on the elevator floor.

"You fools! Now we've got you!" the grunt said, looking down at us. The two grunts behind us had all ready stepped onto the elevator by the time the door shut, leaving us trapped with the three of them. Graveler stood in front of Sabrina, Michael, and me, blocking the Rocket grunts from getting to us.

"Well, looks like we'll have to take out that Graveler," mocked one of the Rocket grunts.

"Hey!" began the other one. "Why hasn't the elevator begun to move yet?"

"Hah!" laughed Michael from behind Graveler. "It's because Graveler here weighs 232 pounds, to be exact. He's exceeding the weight limit. In fact, in a matter of moments, the elevator cables will probably snap and send you guys plummeting to the bottom of the shaft."

"Stupid kid," replied the grunt. "We're on the bottom floor. Ponyta, go! Let's finish off these pests."

"Michael," I whispered to him quickly. "We can't stay here and fight three grunts. The siren's still going anyway; it's only a matter of time before they think to search the elevator."

"Right," Michael whispered back to me. "Hey, Graveler, let's bust out of here."

Graveler grunted in response and turned around just as the grunt's Ponyta emerged from its Pokéball. Graveler was only about three feet tall, so he couldn't exactly reach the ceiling of the elevator from where we stood. However, he quickly lifted the three of us onto his back, smashed through the wall of the elevator, and began to ascend the walls of the elevator shaft.

"You kids are in serious trouble! You're going to pay for this! Wait until we come get you!" shouted the grunts from inside the elevator. The elevator began to churn to life, and I suppose the grunts figured they would just catch up to us, but Graveler was fast enough to make it up to the next floor and break open the elevator doors before the elevator reached the floor.

"Graveler, toss some rocks down into that elevator car. Slow 'em down a bit, eh?" Michael commanded, pointing down the shaft at the car, which had almost reached the floor. Graveler pelted the elevator car with massive stones that he apparently plucked from his own rocky flesh. One struck the elevator ropes, snapping it and bringing the car to a halt, dangling in mid-air.

"You kids are history! You haven't escaped us yet!" I heard them fumble around and begin to climb out of the car slowly and clumsily.

"Michael, Zachi, quickly, let's go before they catch us!" Sabrina implored, grabbing our sleeves and slipping on through the corridor that lay in front of us. We were apparently in one of the back hallways of the hideout, for we saw no grunts patrolling or searching, yet that deplorable siren continued to wail, piercing my eardrums.

"Let's take that staircase over there—see what I'm talking about?" I said quickly, pointing at a flight of stairs looming in front of us. I could just barely hear the shuffling of footsteps and the chatter of grunts clamoring by in the room adjacent to the hallway in which the four of us were.

"All right, let's go quickly so they won't spot us," Michael added. "Graveler, return." He recalled Graveler and replaced his Pokéball in the concealed pocket on his pants. The three of us quickly ran over to the stairs and ascended them. We found ourselves in a massive meeting room complete with three sprawling tables and some decorative potted plants.

"Those three that were in the elevator are going to alert all the Rockets who were passing by in that room," I advised Michael and Sabrina.

"We better find some way out of here quickly before they get to us," Sabrina said, beginning to pace around the room, looking for another exit. "Hmm. Michael, Zachi, you might want to take a look at this."

"What is it?" I spat frantically, limping over to where she was standing. My body was beginning to give out on me.

"It looks like they were about to have a meeting or something," Michael commented. There was an elaborate set up of coffee and snacks at the head of the central meeting table, laid out ornately in front of a towering red leather chair. The chair had gold accents and smelt strongly of new leather. This was clearly Giovanni's chair.

"Hah, I guess we interrupted them, right?" I said with all the amusement I could muster.

"Look, they've got a box of stuff here."

I limped over to the box, which Michael had all ready grabbed and begun to open. I peered inside and nearly lost my breath.

"Oh my goodness!"

►To Be Continued…


	15. Episode 15

Episode 15: Denouement

"Jackpot!" Michael exploded, digging both of his battered arms into the box. I was ecstatic. Our Pokéballs and supplies were all there, in that box! I weakly attempted to shove Michael out of the way to get to my own belongings.

"What on earth do you think they were going to do? Examine our stuff?" I said, coughing.

"I suppose so," Sabrina mumbled, looking over her own belongings and rubbing dirt off her Pokéballs.

"Michael, do you have any escape ropes? We could be out of here in an instant if you've got one!"

"Dude, that's perfect!...but I don't have one. How about you?"

"No…" I trailed off, disappointed. "I guess we'll have to figure our own way out of here. At least I've got my Pokémon again."

"Less talk, guys, more action. We need to find a way out of this room and this hideout," Sabrina interjected.

"Right," I agreed, looking around. Sabrina sure had become more vocal since the beginning of this whole escapade. She was usually so quiet and passive; I figured she was just really introverted, but maybe it was more just shyness. She looked so out of place alongside Michael and me—she was usually clean, sporting her spotless violet one-piece suit with perfectly brushed raven hair that shone ever so slightly forest green in the sunlight. The three of us were filthy and torn, like old rag dolls you might find in your grandmother's attic in a decrepit toy chest, Sabrina included. It almost seemed that the lack of composure in her appearance brought out a more extroverted part of her personality.

"Zachi, there's no door out of here. We're just going to have to fight our way back through the way we came. Are you ready? I don't want to get ambushed in this meeting room."

I turned to Michael, my scan of the room concurring with his analysis. "Uh…yeah…I'm just having a hard time thinking…everything hurts. I'm ready to go battle. Sabrina, are you ready?"

She nodded with an enrapturing gaze. Her pitch hair fell in strands around her dark violet eyes, and I felt for a moment like she was peering into my soul, even though I knew her psychic abilities were blocked.

"All right," I said with start. "Let's show 'em what we've got."

"Right on," Michael added, giving me his toothy grin, his braces gleaming in the fluorescent lights of the hideout. We each walked towards the staircase that lead back down to the previous floor, Pokéballs in hand, ready for battle. Our slow pace reflected the condition of our bodies, but I was feeling fairly confident. I knew I could trust my Pokémon in any battle. I was amazed at the level of bonding that had occurred amongst us (that is, amongst my Pokémon and me) after just a couple of months together. An image of each of my team members flashed through my head: Nidoking, strong and swift; Weepinbell, cute and powerful; Parasect, the odd one, but all the more loveable for it; Pidgeotto, the picture of nobility; Pikachu, who was beginning to grow on me; and finally Eevee, whom I hoped I would be able to keep.

Adrenaline once again began to course through my veins as Michael, Sabrina, and I emerged a floor below to find it was crawling with Rocket grunts. One of them immediately turned and spotted us.

"Look! There they are!" he shouted, pointing. The rest of them turned and grabbed Pokéballs.

"C'mon kids! We're taking you out!" one of them shouted, tossing a Pokéball.

"Let me handle this punk!" Michael exclaimed, pushing me aside and tossing a Pokéball onto the tile floor. "Raticate, go!"

The three of us quickly became emerged in battles. Fortunately, just like last time, the grunts respected the formality of Pokémon battles and allowed us to fight one at a time. I was facing off against a grunt's Ekans with my trusty Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeotto! Quick Attack, now!" I shouted. Pidgeotto chirped to me and cut through the air at lightning pace, headed full speed at the grunt's Ekans. The violet snake Pokémon attempted to slither out of the way, but Pidgeotto's agility was too great, and he took a direct blow to the head. Ekans lashed back at Pidgeotto with a Poison Sting, sinking his fangs into my bird Pokémon's white feathered underbelly. Pidgeotto cried out and began flapping his wings rapidly, gusting the Ekans against one of the walls of the hideout. Ekans recoiled and again landed another poisonous bite. Pidgeotto again gusted the Ekans away with the powerful beating of his wings. They traded blows once more, and Pidgeotto emerged the victor. "Yes!" I cheered. "Great job, Pidgeotto!" He flew to me and perched on my outstretched arm, where I petted his glistening brown feathery wings. He cawed happily.

"All right kid, you got lucky that time, but I'm taking you down," began another grunt, stepping forward. "Arcanine, go!" The grunt confidently chucked his Pokéball to the ground, which burst open to reveal a proud Arcanine, who howled fiercely at my Pidgeotto, flexing and licking his paws.

I narrowed my eyes at the grunt. Arcanine was a serious opponent, not just another pushover like an Ekans or Magnemite. I recalled Pidgeotto and grabbed Nidoking's Pokéball.

"Nidoking, go! Let's take out that Arcanine!" I gasped, clutching my throbbing arm with a wince. Nidoking emerged with a shrill, intimidating cry, stretching his arms and crushing one fist into the other. "Nidoking, thrash that Arcanine!" Nidoking nodded to me, growled at Arcanine, and leapt into the air, landing elbow-first on Arcanine's back. The Arcanine howled in pain and lurched, throwing off Nidoking.

"All right Arcanine! Give him an Ember!" commanded the grunt. The Arcanine crouched and violently threw its head forward, launching a fiery ball which struck Nidoking directly in the chest. Nidoking howled and shook off the embers from the flame. He growled and reared back, smashing his spiny fist directly into the jowls of the grunt's Arcanine. Arcanine yelped and dived at Nidoking, planting a sharp bite on his other arm. Nidoking again bashed Arcanine with his free hand, who cried out in pain and let go of Nidoking's other arm. Unfortunately, Nidoking was now confused from thrashing.

"Nidoking! Give him another thrashing!" I commanded, clenching my outstretched fist tightly. Pain continued to course through all my limbs as I stood there overseeing the battle. I turned for a moment to observe how Michael and Sabrina were fairing. As usual, they were sacking the grunts efficiently, just as I was. Michael's Nidorina was deftly handling a Magnemite, while Sabrina's Kadabra was wearing out a Ponyta. My attention was drawn back to the battle just in time to see Nidoking strike himself in confusion. I growled in frustration. "Nidoking! What are you doing?" I spat angrily. "Get a hold of yourself! Take out Arcanine!" Nidoking didn't seem to understand what I was saying and struck himself again, much to my dismay. Arcanine was gaining an advantage over him. "Nidoking! Come on! Quit hitting yourself!" Finally Nidoking snapped out of it and turned to Arcanine, growling, and clobbered him, fists flying. Arcanine sprung back on all fours and roared, leaping forward like a Kangaskhan and taking Nidoking down. Nidoking furiously lifted the assailant up with all four of his limbs and launched him into the air. Arcanine hit the ceiling and came crashing down. He didn't get back up.

"Drat! How did you go and beat my Arcanine!" the grunt exclaimed furiously, recalling the fallen Pokémon. I laughed heartily for a second but broke down into a coughing fit, my chest aching. I bent over in pain, clutching my chest and coughing gravelly. I stumbled over to Michael, who was knee deep in a Pokémon battle.

"Michael!" I uttered to him as another grunt began to approach me. "We need to make a run for it. We're never going to defeat all these grunts. Let's run for the elevator and have our Pokémon scale the walls. Maybe we can climb to the top floor!"

"Hey, twerp, you're going down!" called a grunt, approaching me, Pokéball in hand.

"All right, get ready, okay?" Michael quickly whispered back. I nodded faintly and pulled out Nidoking's Pokéball.

"All right, buddy, you're going down!" I declared pretentiously to the grunt. "Nidoking, go!"

"Growlithe, go!" he shouted, tossing his Pokéball to the ground. Growlithe emerged with a bark, ready to battle. I grinned devilishly.

"Hey, what the heck is that!" I exclaimed, pointing past the Rocket's shoulder.

"Huh?" he said quickly, turning back to look.

"Michael, now!" I shouted, hopping on Nidoking's back. "Nidoking, grab Sabrina!" I shouted. Nidoking leapt over to her and scooped her up, setting her on his back beside me. Michael jumped on Graveler, and the five of us took off back down the hallway towards the elevator shaft.

"Hey, you brats! You can't get away that easily!" shouted the grunts, simultaneously charging after us. Fortunately, Nidoking and Graveler were faster than they, so we made it to the elevator shaft in enough time. Nidoking and Graveler jumped into the vacant shaft and clung to the wall, ascending it with ease. Michael had clearly administered a super potion to Graveler to restore his strength. After climbing for ten feet or so, we reached the top of the shaft and the final pair of doors. Nidoking barreled right through them, and I immediately recognized the familiar first floor of the Team Rocket hideout. We were almost free at last.

"Michael, let's get to the stairs quickly before they catch us!" I exclaimed, pointing ahead. Our two Ground-type Pokémon raced through the corridors of the first floor, running over two random tables that lay in our way. Making our way out of the corridor, Nidoking and Graveler came skidding to a halt across the shiny tile floor as I realized in horror that the staircase that lay in front of us was completely engulfed by a sea of Rocket grunts, with more flooding up the staircase from the floor below as we watched.

One grunt in front snickered sinisterly, jeering, "Looks like you pests have come to the end of the line." He laughed haughtily. My blood ran cold as I saw one final Rocket emerge from the stairs. It was Giovanni, looking insidious as ever. He wasn't wearing his usual cruel grin; he was scowling. I guess we had really ticked him off, destroying the elevator and escaping from his death trap and all.

"…you got another brilliant plan right about now?" I mumbled to Michael through gritted teeth.

"…I was about to ask you the same question…" he replied in turn.

"Hah, hah, hah," began Giovanni, laughing heartily as he stepped forward through his sea of grunts to face the five of us. He folded his arms in his usual confident air, his familiar devilish grin spreading once again over his face. His hearty laughed burst into a mad cackle as he through his head back in laughter. I grit my teeth in anger as he mocked us. "Well, well, brats, you thought you could escape the great Team Rocket, did you? Looks like you were wrong!"

"What kind of twisted psycho are you, trying to murder a bunch of kids!" I spat violently at him.

"You won't get away with this, Giovanni!" Michael exclaimed. "Our moms will figure out we've disappeared. The cops will come and investigate. You'll go down."

"The cops? Hah! The cops, come into Team Rocket's domain? They know better than that! Besides, they don't even know where to find this place. There'll be no evidence, no trace. The citizens of Celadon City know better than to speak out against Team Rocket. We're always lurking in the shadows, gripping this town like a disease. If some fool went to the police, he'd be gone the next day. Nobody will come to take us down. Your faith is misplaced, kid." Apparently through with his speech, Giovanni turned and snapped his fingers in the general direction of the crowd behind himself. "Jessie, James, come take care of these intruders, and make sure they don't escape this time, or you're going to have to explain yourselves to me personally! Hurry up!"

Two figures made their way through the hoard of grunts. I recognized them instantly upon emergence. They were the two Rockets we had met on the S.S. Anne who tried to vacuum up our Pokémon. They stood proudly in front of the grunts, hands on hips, sinister grins on their faces, just like Giovanni.

"You're coming with us, pipsqueaks!" Jessie declared, walking towards us. Halfway through her second step, she came to a halt as rumble reverberated through the entire room.

Boom! A huge Snorlax came out of virtually nowhere and landed directly on top of the main bulk of grunts. It was just like earlier, when the big guy from the underground passage came and saved us from Team Rocket the first time!

"Whoa! Where'd that come from!" Michael exclaimed, pointing excitedly. Grunts were running everywhere. Giovanni animatedly and furiously dictated to the grunts, trying to calm them and get them to focus on the task at hand. Another large form fell from the ceiling, directly on top of Giovanni. Giovanni hit the ground and disappeared in the flurry of grunts. Snorlax was swinging his arms wildly, knocking grunts left and right. I cheered in excitement at the scene unfolding in front of us.

"Boss! Good luck!" Jessie and James cried, running off down a corridor, attempting to mix with the grunts.

"You fools! Run for it!" came the voice of the fat man, his head popping up from his apparent struggle with Giovanni. I turned to Michael.

"Michael! Let's go! Now!"

He turned and hurriedly nodded. Nidoking and Graveler took off, shoving their way through the crowd, leaping over fallen grunts. They dashed up the stairs with us on their backs, shoving off grunts who were diving onto us left and right.

Poof! Michael and Graveler vanished into the sea of grunts, apparently toppled over by grunts.

"Michael! Where are you?" I shouted, bringing Nidoking to a halt. I quickly began to be swarmed by a horde of grunts. I furiously kicked and swung wildly in conjugate with Nidoking, who was flinging all five of his limbs to batter away grunts. Sabrina had released Kadabra, who was sending grunts flying head-over-heels through the air. Thud, thud, thud, came the sound of Snorlax lumbering over towards our catastrophe. The fat, lazy Pokémon picked the grunts off of Michael and Graveler, leaving them exposed, lying on the ground. Graveler rolled forward and got to his feet, swooping up Michael and placing him on his back. Snorlax, Nidoking, Graveler, and Kadabra continued to furiously battle off grunts.

"Get out of here! The police are waiting outside! Go! Go!" came the distant shouts of the fat man.

I instructed Nidoking to turn and break through the door. He wheeled about on his heels and sprung through the air, the prominent horn on his forehead piercing through the door. We landed on the cheap red carpet on the floor in the back of the casino, and I quickly turned and looked to see Kadabra scoop up Sabrina in both arms and flee up the stairs, followed by Graveler with Michael, who was still fending off grunts with his spare two arms. The three of us bulldozed our way through the casino, knocking over rich gamblers, casino employees, slot machines, tables, and chairs, until we made our way through the maze of corridors to the glass doors at the front. I could see the revolving green and yellow lights from the police cars through the doors and the pacing police officers, complete in their green and khaki uniforms, with cap, Billy club, and gun. The six of us barreled through the glass doors and landed belly-first on the pavement in front of the casino, police immediately swarming about us. The Rockets never even followed us to the glass doors. We were free at last.

An hour later, Michael, Sabrina, and I were all sitting in the waiting room of the Pokémon Center wrapped in cozy, fuzzy blue blankets the Center had given us to keep warm. We were waiting for Nurse Joy to see us and treat our wounds. The three of us all looked awful, with cuts, bruises, scuffs, and scrapes, our clothing torn and tattered, our hair discombobulated and disarrayed. I slumped lazily on the soft couch we occupied, finally able to relax for the first time in hours. We were all silent, an unspoken desire to just fudge out and relax having been agreed upon long ago. I was so thrilled to be out of Team Rocket's hideout alive and wanted nothing more than to rest and forget about the whole nightmare. Police were bustling through the whole Pokémon Center, Officer Jenny giving directions and commands to other police officers, pointing and writing things. It was very reassuring to have the law there watching over us, lest Team Rocket try to sneak in and kidnap one of us again. When the police had helped us into the back of the police car, we were told we would all need to give statements when Nurse Joy was done seeing us. My main concern was whether or not the police were going to do anything about Team Rocket, and if any arrests had been made. I was, however, far too exhausted to even bother asking at that point. My thoughts drifted to my mom and home, and I lackadaisically wondered how she was doing. I mentally noted that I should call her and whatnot, but after that sleep began to overtake me, my heavy eyelids falling shut.

The sensation of being shoved and the sound of Michael chanting my name awoke me, and I foggily recognized that I was still on the couch in the Pokémon Center.

"Zachi, Nurse Joy's ready to see you," he said absently. His cheek was swamped with a huge gauze bandage, and the rest of his body was littered with smaller bandages.

"Why are you talking so funny?" I stammered out sleepily, yawning widely.

"Nurse Joy gave me some shot that made me feel really good," he droned idiotically.

I gave him an odd, half-asleep stare and stood up slowly, searing pain shooting all throughout my legs and lower back. I felt like an old man. I slowly limped towards the open door in the back of the waiting room where Nurse Joy stood patiently, a pleasant and warming smile on her face. I glanced passively at the clock on the wall and noticed it was 4:30 a.m. I had never been awake at that hour of the morning before. Nurse Joy ushered me kindly into an open room with the usual setup; a paper-coated bed with blood pressure machine, light, stool, instruments, and a counter with a sink. The whole place was almost blindingly white and rank of sanitation. It was almost _too_ clean. I gingerly eased into a sitting position on the bed, and Nurse Joy stood a few feet from me, still smiling the same pleasant smile.

"It's Zachi, correct?"

"Yes ma'am," I mumbled tiredly.

"You poor thing, you must be exhausted. Well, let's get this over with quickly so I can fix you up so you can go to sleep!" she declared reassuringly. She came a little closer, maintaining her kind expression, and gently placed her hand on my shoulder. "I need to examine you to check and make sure you haven't broken anything or received any internal damage. I hope this isn't uncomfortable, but I'm going to need you to take off your shirt and pants."

Despite my exhaustion, I turned a bright shade of red and looked left and right nervously.

"Don't worry, your friends aren't going to come back here and see you. Are you ready?"

I swallowed, trying to be mature about it, and began to slowly disrobe. Nurse Joy delicately examined me, going through the usual routine, asking me to breathe in deeply and then hold my breath and then move my arms and legs. After a few checks, she told me I could get dressed again.

"Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?" she said gently, maintaining a reassuring smile.

I attempted a grin and stammered out a no.

"Well, it seems like everything's fine. Your breathing is normal; none of your bones are broken, and your heart is beating regularly."

"Everything hurts really badly, Nurse Joy," I heaved.

"I'm sure it does. You're pretty torn up. I'm surprised you didn't suffer any major damage. I guess your mom always made you drink your milk, huh?" she suggested with a friendly chuckle.

I smiled, wincing, and nodded. It was all too true. Scenes of arguments between Mom and me fighting over whether or not I had to drink milk flashed through my head, and I mentally thanked God that she had made me drink all that milk, especially if it had made the difference between a broken leg or rib and a clean bill of health.

"All right, well, I'm going to give you a shot to numb the pain, just like I gave your friend Michael, okay?" Nurse Joy said, still smiling.

"He's my cousin," I added weakly.

"Oh, is that so? Are you two on a Pokémon journey together?"

"Yeah…Sabrina's a friend of ours I met along the way."

"How old are the three of you?"

"I'm 10, but I'm going to be 11 in a couple of months. I've got an early birthday, so I was 10 for several months before I got my first Pokémon."

"Did you get your first Pokémon from Professor Oak?"

"Yeah, but I didn't get the one I wanted…"

"Oh?" she inquired, turning her body to the counter and opening a drawer. "Which Pokémon did you want?" She reached into the drawer and retrieved a few items, then shut the drawer.

"I wanted Eevee, but I only got Pikachu…"

She approached me with a strand of rubber and a cotton swab.

"Well, maybe you'll get Eevee sometime along on your journey," she commented, still smiling that friendly smile. "Now, I need you to hold still. Can you roll up your sleeve for me?"

I rolled back the sleeve on my right arm, and she tied the rubber around my arm and swabbed the pit of my elbow with the cotton, which stunk of rubbing alcohol.

"You'll feel a small stick, and then everything will start feeling better. It helps to look the other direction and think about something fun."

I did as she suggested, turning and thinking of Pokémon training. The palms of my hands begin to sweat, and my left arm tensed up as the needle stuck me. After a few seconds, I felt a wave of relaxation wash over my body, and I couldn't feel the sting of the needle any longer.

"There you go. Now let me bandage some of these cuts."

She gently applied some bandages to my open wounds, and I smiled faintly at her for being so friendly and nice to me.

"All right, Zachi, you're good to go. You should go check into a room in the Center and get some sleep. You're going to need it in the morning."

"Thanks so much, Nurse Joy," I said, smiling a bit more widely. I eased off the side of the bed and walked slowly out of the room, back into the waiting room, where Michael and Sabrina sat, both barely awake.

My attention was immediately grabbed as paramedics burst into the Pokémon Center, ushering along a stretcher. I immediately recognized the man on the stretcher as the fat guy who had saved us with his Snorlax earlier.

"Hey! What happened!" I exclaimed.

"Get out of the way, kid! This man is in critical condition! We've got to get him to the doctors immediately!" shouted a paramedic.

They blew by me and down a hallway in the Pokémon Center. I was determined to find out what happened to the fat guy, but I figured they weren't going to tell me quite yet. I resignedly walked over to Michael and Sabrina.

"Let's hit the hay, guys…" I uttered, exhausted. They got up slowly, and I stood there for a moment, looking at both of them. Occasionally I pondered how Michael and I were even related. He was short, stocky, and round with short brown hair and a wide grin. I, on the other hand, was much taller, leaner, and had bright blonde hair that naturally stuck up in all different directions. Brown eyes were the only thing we had in common.

Standing there, looking at the two of them silently, I was suddenly overcome by emotion and felt tears welling up and a lump growing in the back of my throat.

"Guys, I wasn't sure if we were going to make it out of there alive…thanks for all your help…" I said, trying to contain myself. Michael gave me a genuine smile, which I returned, barely composed, and I stepped forward and embraced my cousin. He returned the gesture, and I gently patted his back.

"No problem, Zachi. Glad I could be there to help you out. We're family, right?" he said.

"Yeah, man," I replied, still fighting for composure. I turned awkwardly to Sabrina, who was just as bandaged as Michael and I, and gave her an uncomfortable smile. She blushed mildly. "Uh…" I began.

She stepped forward and hugged me, quietly saying, "Thanks for coming after me." I felt butterflies in my stomach and blushed wildly even after the embrace ended. She turned to Michael and hugged him from the side, giving him her gratitude as well.

I abashedly shoved my hands in my pockets, wincing as my jeans caught on my bloodied knuckles.

"Well, uh, let's go get some sleep, right?" I stammered out.

"Man, you said it, Zachi," Michael added. Sabrina nodded slightly, and the three of us turned towards the door that lead to the rooms in the Pokémon Center. We were finally out of the whole mess, and I was ready to catch up on some Z's. When I got into the room, Michael and I quickly got out of our torn and ragged clothes and climbed into separate bunks. I naturally claimed the top bunk, and after climbing up to it and lying down, sleep ambushed me, and I was out.

►To Be Continued…


	16. Episode 16

Episode 16: Twelve-year-old-ness

I slowly awoke, rolling over to stifle the light streaming in from the small port window from blinding my eyes. The sun shone brilliantly, illuminating the small room in the Pokémon Center where Michael and I had crashed for the night, casting a warm vibrancy on everything around us. I continued to lay motionless, allowing consciousness to slowly wash over me. I stretched a little and immediately gasped in pain as the stiffness in my joints and the ache of my wounds came back to me. I had forgotten about all the damage done to my body. I slowly dragged myself up, rubbing my eyes gingerly and pushing my spiky hair out of my face. I slowly and groggily climbed down the metal ladder which led to the bunk I had occupied for the evening and stood motionless for a moment, sleep still clouding my awareness. I slowly stretched once more, yawning, and ran my fingers through my bright yellow hair. Michael was still sound asleep on the bottom bunk, looking completely graceless, lying on his stomach with his arms limply lying to the sides, his face poking out to the right. He snored rhythmically, and a bit of drool ran down his cheek. I shook my head slowly at his posture and sleep habits and stretched once more.

Well, what is on my agenda for today, I thought to myself. I figured it was time to head on over to the Celadon City gym and try my hand against some of Erika's junior trainers. My Pokémon were becoming very strong, all of them in the lower 30's. I figured at this rate, I could skip up some of the laborious training that I've read is usually necessary before fighting Koga, the fifth gym leader. I realized that I didn't have a spare pair of jeans with me, so I weakly slipped into my tattered jeans and threw on a spare shirt, donning my trainer's vest over it, which was surprisingly unharmed, compared to my shirt and pants. I looked down at the ragged holes in my pants leg and examined them, astonished at the amount of damage the single bite from the monster had done. I wondered if I could have Professor Oak look at the pants and analyze the size of the bite to tell me which Pokémon we had been facing. Oh well, I thought. I'll send him the pants after I get a new pair.

"Hey, Michael," I said, turning to him. He continued to snore. "Michael." Still no response. Finally, I walked over to him and gave a few harsh shakes, repeating his name louder each time.

Finally, he began to stir, making random noises and groaning. "What…?" came his strained response.

"C'mon, get up. We need to get some stuff from the shopping center and then go sack Erika."

"Uh…all right…give me a minute…"

I left him there and slipped on my shoes, leaving the room. I suddenly remembered the fat guy from last night, how the paramedics had rushed in with him on a stretcher. I made my way towards the hospital section of the Center and asked the receptionist about the guy.

"I'm not sure about whom you are talking," she replied curtly.

"There was a guy rushed in here last night at like, 5:00 a.m. He was a big guy. Can I go see him? Is he okay?"

"I'm sorry, sir, I don't know anything about it. Do you have his name?"

"No…you don't have like, a list of people checked in or anything?"

"Well, I'm sorry, sir, but I can't just go giving out that information to anybody. You have to know the gentleman—at least his name—and explain to me your connection."

"Well, I think he saved the life of me and my friends last night. We're the kids who got in trouble with Team Rocket. Does your list have our names on it?"

"What are your names?"

"I'm Zachi, and my cousin Michael and our friend Sabrina were with me. We got here around 4-something. I'm 10. Does any of that match up with your list?"

"Yes. And you want to see the gentleman who was checked in last night at 5:00 a.m.?"

"Yes! Can you get me in to see him for just a second?"

"Let me find out. Hold on just one moment." She picked up a small black phone, quickly dialed a number, and turned around. She spoke very softly, so I couldn't hear anything she was saying. After several minutes, she turned back around to face me, smiling, and said, "Please step right this way, young man."

I grinned and followed her gesture. She followed me down the hallway and led me to a room on the right, opening the door slowly and quietly. There on the bed lay the fat guy from the underground passage, the same one who had helped the three of us out of the Rocket base. I could see he was hooked up to an IV and some other machines and had crimson-stained bandages wrapped around the fat of his belly.

"What happened to him?!" I exclaimed, pointing at the bandages.

"He's suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdominal region."

"Oh my goodness. Is he going to be okay? Did they do surgery? Is he going to make it? Who shot him?"

The woman restrained a look of irritation and calmly replied, "Ironically, the gentleman's belly was large enough that the bullet never even made it to any vital parts of his body. The doctors are confident he'll make it just fine. They removed the bullet and took a look at him. He'll probably be out of here in a week. We're not sure who shot him, but if you say he was helping you escape from the clutches of Team Rocket…well…"

My mind flashed back to the previous night, and I remembered the guy had leapt on Giovanni and started fighting with him. Giovanni had probably whipped a gun out of his jacket and shot him. I was infinitely grateful and immediately recalled that I still had his Eevee. Hesitantly I looked down at Eevee's Pokéball, removed it from my belt, and gently placed it on the table beside the guy's bed.

"What are you doing?" the receptionist asked with alarm.

"That's his Eevee. I got it by mistake, but he definitely deserves to have it back. Thanks for showing him to me. I'm done now."

The receptionist followed me back out of the room into the main foyer of the Pokémon Center, where I saw Michael sitting lazily on one of the couches.

"Well, it's about time you got up!" I exclaimed, looking at Michael. He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, whatever. You ready to hit the town?"

"You said it. Where's Sabrina?"

"What are you talking about? She's right there," Michael said confusedly, pointing at the wall beside me. I looked around, perplexed.

"What do you mean, 'What am I talking about?'? What are _you_ talking about?"

"Look! She's right there!"

I looked around again. Suddenly, Sabrina stepped forward out of seemingly nowhere.

"Gah!" I growled. "That's the second time you've done that! Quit messing with me like that!"

She gave me a very slight grin, her eyes dully glowing. I pursed my lips.

"All right, let's go."

The three of us stepped out into the humid heat of Celadon City and began to make our way towards the six story department store. The massive green building shone glamorously in the sun and bustled with business. I had initially skipped up visiting the place when we got to Celadon City, but now I needed a new pair of pants, so this was the place to get them.

"Man, they've just got so much stuff here," Michael commented, looking around like a kid in a toy shop. The first floor was relatively empty, but we all knew the remaining five weren't to disappoint. We stepped onto the elevator and waited patiently to be taken to the second floor. It sure felt funny to be riding in an elevator peacefully, seeing as the last time we had been on one, our very lives were being threatened. The elevator came to a stop with a cursory beep, and we emerged to find goods of all sorts at our disposal. This floor was the trainer's market, and the walls were lined with technical machines, bags, hiking equipment, boots, trainer's vests of every sort and color, gloves, flashlights, camping supplies, and of course, clothing. I went over to the rack with the blue jeans on it and quickly found a pair in my size. I dug my wallet out of my pants pocket and found I had enough yen to get two pairs, so I grabbed a second pair. Both were my favorite shade of blue. I walked over to the counter, set the pairs of pants down, and waited as the clerk rung up the total.

"That'll be 5,082 yen. Paying in cash?"

"Yes sir," I replied quickly and handed him a 5,000 yen bill and 100 yen coin. He dropped the currency in the register and handed me my change. The coins looked hot off the mint, shiny and clean. I jostled them around in the palm of my hand for a second, then dropped them in my pocket.

"Hey, Michael, Sabrina," I called to them, interrupting their examination of a complex-looking multitool. "I'm gonna' go to the bathroom and slip one of these on. I'll be right back." They nodded to me, and I took off for the men's room. I slid gracefully into one of the stalls and quickly dropped my torn pants, which fell limply to the ground like an old sheet. I unfolded the new pants, quickly yanking off the tags, and slid each of my legs into them, enjoying the refreshing feel of crisp, new pants. I buttoned them and slid my belt around the loops, buckling it, then tossed my old pants in my shopping bag and left the bathroom.

When I returned to the trainer's market, I saw Michael dressed to the nines in fishing gear, complete with a khaki vest with countless pockets, a matching ugly hat, waders, a tackle box, and a fishing rod.

"What on earth are you doing?" I asked him, very puzzled.

"I just thought it'd be fun to try it on," he replied with a shrug. I shook my head slowly.

"All right, let's get out of here. I'm ready to go take down Erika."

"You're going to have to wait on Sabrina. She went up a couple floors to the Wiseman Gift Shop to dink around."

"Oh, that reminds me! I need to go up there and get a Leaf Stone and a Water Stone. Come on, let's go!" I grabbed Michael's wrist, tugging him so hard that the fishing gear came right off him, and we jumped into the elevator. I hit the fourth floor button and waited patiently. Moments later, we arrived at the gift shop, and I saw Sabrina examining various Pokédolls.

"What are you doing?" I questioned her.

She paused for a moment. "Just looking at some dolls."

"Uh…why? Those are only good for fleeing from battles, anyway."

"I like to collect them."

"Uh, right." I turned and swiped a Leaf Stone and a Water Stone off an adjacent shelf and brought them to the counter.

"That'll be 4,200 yen," the clerk said, popping open the cash register. I dug more money out of my pocket and handed it to him, then took off, another bag in hand. "Hey Michael, Sabrina, let's get out of here. I wanna' go fight Erika and get the Rainbow Badge."

"What, you need us to hold your hand while you walk over there? Go by yourself! I'm still looking around," Michael shot back at me.

"What, you too scared to come face Erika too?"

My child psychology worked as always. "…I never said _that_. I'm just enjoying my time here in the department store." Michael blurted, eyeing me cautiously. I grinned.

"C'mon, I'll race you down there."

"You're on."

The two of us turned around and sprang towards the elevator but immediately stopped and howled in pain. Searing ache coursed through my legs and hips as my recent injuries were reignited. Michael stopped short beside me, grabbing his side and wincing.

"Okay…maybe we should just take it easy, you think?" he said with a strained laugh.

"Agreed."

Sabrina snickered and walked past us, the elevator doors shutting behind her.

"Dang it!" I burst, pounding my fist against the door of the elevator. "I guess we'll just have to wait."

Sabrina, Michael, and I emerged from the department store as a trio once again, and I hung my jaw in discomfort as the saturated Celadon air overtook me. It felt like a warm blanket, making me sleepy and lethargic. Suddenly fighting Erika no longer seemed like a good idea. Knowing Michael, who was a procrastinator at heart, I figured he probably would concur that we should wait another day to fight. I squinted my eyes at the balmy sun and looked to Michael, whose eyelids were drooping.

"You know, on second thought, perhaps we should just take it easy for the rest of the day. Maybe tomorrow the weather and our bodies will be more conducive to an exhilarating gym leader battle, eh?"

Michael turned and yawned. "Yeah, sounds good. Let's hit up the casino."

I dead-panned him.

"I'm just kidding. Well, I don't really need to do any training, so I think I'm just going to go back to the Pokémon Center and catch up on some more rest." A typical Michael strategy—sleeping. I sighed and resigned myself to finding alternate methods of entertainment.

I awoke from my nap feeling curiously alert despite the fact that it was the middle of the night. I raised my wrist and read the numbers off my wristwatch: 11:38 p.m. I hadn't really intended to sleep as long as I had, but the humidity was smothering me, and I was still quite sore and tired from the previous day's escapades. I gingerly climbed down from my bunk in the Pokémon Center and found Michael sleeping as usual. And Aunt Terri wonders why he's getting chubby. I made my way out of the room and padded softly through the lobby, taking in the surreal effect of the bright fluorescents against the darkness outside. I wandered outside and was immediately greeted with a cool gale which enraptured my entire person and tossed my hair around like a salad. Still, it was refreshing compared to the unpleasant humid warmth of the day, and I shoved my hands in my pockets and began to idly navigate the green-grey blocks of the Celadon streets. My thoughts drifted like the leaves on the wind around me, and I thought back to my home in Pallet Town and my mom. I had forgotten to call her. Dang it. I had been on my journey for a few months now and hadn't seen my mom at all. That was the life of a Pokémon trainer though, right? Here I was only 10 years old and all ready completely out on my own. Well, I would be 11 soon. It didn't feel like soon enough. Michael was going to turn 11 in just a few weeks, and I didn't even known how old Sabrina was. I guess I had never asked her. I mentally noted to call mom and find out how old Sabrina was, and then began to think of my battle tomorrow. I wasn't as nervous as I had been the past three gym leader battles. I felt more confident, more prepared. I reached down and squeezed my Pokéballs on my belt, feeling the smooth, round, cold exterior of them. After Erika, only four more gym leaders would remain to defeat on my quest for the Indigo Plateau.

I was pulled from my thoughts when I spotted a familiar shape next to the pond beside the casino. Even in the moonlight, I still recognized Sabrina's dark green-tinted black hair. I cautiously approached her and found her staring reflectively at the water's undisturbed surface. What looked to be a sleeping Squirtle floated distantly in the far corner of the pond, near the old lady's house. I could hear the remote chirps of Pidgeys and Caterpies sounding from the woods that composed the southern border of Celadon City. I slowly planted myself beside Sabrina and joined her in staring at the pond, letting the sounds of nature fill the awkward silence between us. When I thought I could stand the taciturn moment no longer, Sabrina at last spoke, quietly and peacefully.

"Hey," was all she said.

I fidgeted ever-so-slightly and returned the greeting.

Moments passed, stretching on indefinitely.

"So what brings you here at this hour, Zachi?" Sabrina inquired confidently, breaking the stalemate at last.

"I dunno'. I was just taking a midnight walk and saw you here. What are you doing out here?" I attempted to return her confidence but found myself feeling substantially more anxious than I sounded.

"Just thinking about things."

I was hoping for a more useful answer than that. Oh dang it, why am I so nervous? I asked myself. Sabrina's just my friend, I reasoned. There's no reason to be nervous.

You don't like her, do you? I asked myself.

No. Of course not. Me? Like Sabrina?

Then why _are_ you so nervous?

Because—because—uh—

"Something on your mind?" Sabrina slipped out, interrupting my argument with myself.

I put the thoughts out of my head briefly and managed to reply. "No…why do you ask?"

"You just looked a little preoccupied." I blushed furiously.

You _do _like her!

No! No, I _do not_. And just to prove you wrong, I'm going to get up and go back to the Pokémon Center and go back to sleep and think about Pokémon. Not girls. I'm only 10. I'm too young for girls. Way too young. Mom would agree.

But my legs seemed to be disarrayed. So I sat there, blushing, now beginning to sweat, thinking about how I didn't like Sabrina, how she was just my friend.

Sabrina yawned, stretched, stood up, and said, "Well, you're boring, Zachi. I'm going back to the Pokémon Center."

I gawked and immediately sprang to my feet, spitting back, "_I'm_ boring?! You're the one just sitting around in front of the pond thinking about things and—" But she was all ready walking off, so I stopped mid-sentence and just stood there brooding.

"Hey!" I spat out after her, the words echoing briefly through the cool air, which had now fallen remarkably calm. Only Caterpies acknowledged me at first, until at last Sabrina turned around and stared expectantly at me. I was standing there like an idiot, mentally searching frantically for something else to say. At last, it came to me! "How old are you?" I declared proudly, as if it were only the natural and expected question at this particular moment.

Sabrina didn't seem to find it so natural or expected. She stared at me, her eyebrows furrowed furiously, apparently trying to deduce the cause of my inquiry. At last she responded awkwardly, "Twelve. What the heck kind of question is that, Zachi?"

My answer failed to come in any timely manner. Twelve. So she was two years older than me? Wow, she didn't look it. I guess two years wasn't so big a difference, anyway. Besides, I was about to be eleven…so it was more like only _one_ year.

"Zachi?"

My thoughts were interrupted yet again, and I stuttered out a weak response. "Oh, I was just curious. I had never asked before."

"Oh…right."

I stood there like an idiot. The Caterpies seemed to be laughing at me at this point.

"…maybe you should go get some sleep. Come on, let's go back to the Pokémon Center."

I blushed yet again and hoped the night hid my red face.

"Okay," I responded. I hid my hands in my pockets and caught up to her, suddenly feeling rather swamped by her twelve-year-old-ness. Oh come on, I told myself. She's not that much older. Still, it suddenly felt like she had grown an inch. Or a foot. Or maybe a yard. I mentally punched myself at that thought and resolved to silence myself on the issue all together. I would go back to sleep, dream about showing Erika who's boss, and call Mom in the morning. It sounded like a plan.

►To Be Continued…


End file.
